Eight Filipinos with fake IC from Sabah jailed

KUALA LUMPUR: Eight Philippine security guards were jailed between two and 18 months each by five Magistrate’s Courts here, on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to using fake identity cards and identity cards belonging to other people, two days ago.

The court also ordered Romi Jakira, Rijan Esnael, Razmie Alim, Sababon Insalon, Ambitun Absarun, Buyong Akalol, Askun Nahilun, and Asmarun Kilong, aged between 23 and 58, to serve the sentence from the day they were arrested on April 20.

The charges against them were filed in five separate courts, namely before Magistrates S. Mageswary, Tawfiq Affandi Chin, Fardiana Haryanti Ahmad Razali, Wong Chai Sia and Aina Azahra Arifin.

Rijan was charged with using an identity card belonging to another person as his identity document, at the Stadium Merdeka here at 12.15 am, on April 21.

The charge was framed under Regulation 25(1)(o) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 which carries a maximum jail term of three years or a fine of up to RM20,000 or both, upon conviction.

The other seven accused were charged with using fake temporary identity cards at the Ministry of Home Affairs Complex and Stadium Negara here, between 1.20 am and 5 pm, on April 21, under Regulation 25(1)(e) of the same regulation, which carries the same punishments.

Prosecution officers from the National Registration Department (NRD) Mohd Zakuan Zakaria, Mohd Supian Abdullah and Mohamad Riduawan Abdullah appeared for the prosecution while all the accused were unrepresented.

Kuala Lumpur NRD director Eris Jemadi Tajudin, in a statement on Thursday, said eight security guards who were on duty at Stadium Negara were nabbed in an operation last Tuesday.

The investigation also revealed that the Philippine men had obtained the fake identity cards from agents in Sabah before sneaking into Peninsular Malaysia to work as security guards.