Housewife fined for trying to hoodwink Immigration
8:31 AM Posted In http://thestar.com.my Edit This 0 Comments »
KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife who abetted an unemployed man in applying for a Malaysian passport to be used by a third party was fined RM15,000 by the Semenyih Sessions Court.
If she fails to settle the fine, M. Saratha Malar, 43, will have to serve three months in jail. Judge G. Ramesh rejected a request for a stay of execution pending an appeal.
In sentencing her Friday, judge Ramesh ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Saratha claimed trial to abetting Jerome Xavier Albert, 27, with the intention of getting a Malaysian passport for him to be used by another person.
She was said to have assisted Jerome in the application by producing two photographs of another person.
The mother of three was said to have committed the offence at the Passport Division of the Immigration Department at Jalan Damansutra in Pusat Bandar Damansara on July 17, 2007.
Seven prosecution witnesses testified while Saratha testified under oath during the defence’s case.
Senior deputy assistant director of the Immigration department V. Kasthuri Bai, who prosecuted, said the evidence revealed that Saratha went to the department with Jerome and an accomplice to apply for the Malaysian passport.
Kasthuri pressed for an appropriate sentence, saying that although the accused was a first offender, the offence was serious.
“If she got the Malaysian passport and it fell to wrong hands, it could affect the security of the country. The passport is a privileged document,” she said.
She said the court must consider the rampancy of the passsport-related cases.
Saratha’s counsel mitigated for a fine, saying that the accused has to take care of her children, including the youngest child who needs insulin injections.
If she fails to settle the fine, M. Saratha Malar, 43, will have to serve three months in jail. Judge G. Ramesh rejected a request for a stay of execution pending an appeal.
In sentencing her Friday, judge Ramesh ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Saratha claimed trial to abetting Jerome Xavier Albert, 27, with the intention of getting a Malaysian passport for him to be used by another person.
She was said to have assisted Jerome in the application by producing two photographs of another person.
The mother of three was said to have committed the offence at the Passport Division of the Immigration Department at Jalan Damansutra in Pusat Bandar Damansara on July 17, 2007.
Seven prosecution witnesses testified while Saratha testified under oath during the defence’s case.
Senior deputy assistant director of the Immigration department V. Kasthuri Bai, who prosecuted, said the evidence revealed that Saratha went to the department with Jerome and an accomplice to apply for the Malaysian passport.
Kasthuri pressed for an appropriate sentence, saying that although the accused was a first offender, the offence was serious.
“If she got the Malaysian passport and it fell to wrong hands, it could affect the security of the country. The passport is a privileged document,” she said.
She said the court must consider the rampancy of the passsport-related cases.
Saratha’s counsel mitigated for a fine, saying that the accused has to take care of her children, including the youngest child who needs insulin injections.
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