KUCHING: An Indonesian man was sentenced to four months imprisonment yesterday by the Sessions Court for entering the country without a valid permit.
Sessions Court Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman meted out the sentence on Mirno Apriono, 28, of Sambas, Indonesia after he pleaded guilty to a charge read in front of him.
The court ordered the accused to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest on August 25.
According to the charges, he was allegedly in a restaurant in a well- known shopping centre on August 25 at around 2.58pm.
As a result, the accused was charged under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63 and punishable under Section 6(3) of the same Act.
Meanwhile, he was sentenced to five months’ jail in the Magistrate’s Court after he pleaded guilty to being involved in operating a gambling machine via a smartphone.
Magistrate Zaiton Anuar ordered that the accused to be referred to the Malaysian Immigration Department for further action after serving his prison sentence.
He was charged under Section 4B(a) of the Open Gambling House Act 1953 which provides for a minimum fine of RM10,000 for each gambling machine and a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.
Based on the facts of the case, a police squad raided a restaurant in a shopping centre here because it was suspected of hosting internet gambling.
During the inspection, the police arrested the accused after he failed to present valid documents to enter Sarawak.
In addition, the police also found a smartphone that displayed a gambling website, and a gambling expert’s report confirmed that the smartphone contained a gambling kiosk.
The prosecution of the case was handled separately by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff and prosecuting officer Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad.
