The High Court in Klang on Wednesday upheld prison sentences of 12 years and 10 years respectively against a police officer and his wife after they were found guilty of trafficking their Indonesian domestic helper for forced labour, resulting in serious injuries in 2022.
High Court Judge Datuk Seri Shamsulbahri Ibrahim, who is now a judge at the Shah Alam High Court, dismissed the appeal by S. Vijayan Rao, 42, and K. Rineshini Naidu, 39, after finding no reason to interfere with the earlier decision.
“I find that the sentence imposed by the Klang Sessions Court Judge Zulqarnain Hassan falls within the permissible range under the law and is appropriate. There are no reasonable grounds for me to intervene or alter the sentence. Therefore, I dismiss the appeal against both conviction and sentence,” he said.
However, the court allowed the couple’s application to stay the execution of their sentences pending the outcome of further appeals.
In 2024, the Klang Sessions Court convicted the pair at the end of the defence case and ordered them to pay RM80,000 in compensation to the victim within one month, failing which an additional six months would be added to their prison terms.
The trial court found, based on evidence and a forensic medical report by Dr Siew Sheue Feng from Hospital Kuala Lumpur, that the victim suffered 20 fresh injuries to the head, three to the neck, five to the chest, one to the back, and multiple injuries to both arms.
The court also noted extensive scarring, including 42 scars on the head, along with injuries on the chest, abdomen, back, and hands.
The offences were committed at a house in Taman Industri Bolton, Gombak between March and August 2022 under Section 13(a) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or up to 20 years’ jail and whipping.
Rineshini was also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and a RM5,000 fine for causing grievous hurt to the victim.
Separately, Vijayan received six months’ jail and a RM25,000 fine for employing the victim without a valid permit under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
The court also ordered additional jail terms in default of fine payments.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Najwa Bistamam, while defence counsel Manogaran Marimuthu and Mooresh Kana Murthy represented the appellants.
