Two men were fined RM 40,000 (AED 34,841.84) by a local court in Malaysia on Wednesday, August 4, for employing illegal immigrants including Filipino women.
The Sessions Court fined Chong Soong Fatt, 62, and Lee Thau Vui, 67, after they pleaded guilty separately before Judge Azreena Aziz to the charges against them. Chong and Lee were ordered to pay a fine of RM10,000 or two months in jail for each illegal immigrant.
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While Chong was found employing three paperless Filipinos including a woman at 11:51am on April 14 this year at the New Sheng Tat Sofa Sdn Bhd, Kg Mogonibung in Penampang, Lee had also employed a 26-year-old Filipina at the same premises.
The charge against Chong and Lee which was framed under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (amended 2002) provides for a fine of between RM30,000 and RM50,000 or a jail term of up to 12 months or both for each illegal immigrant employee. The convicts had requested a lower fine.
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Lee pleaded that he was only working as a subcontractor and had turned to this after facing difficulty to get a job in the current pandemic. The Immigration Department’s prosecuting officer said Lee was a tenant at the premises which was owned by Chong. (AW)
