Three Indonesian men pleaded guilty at the Magistrates’ Court here today to attempting to smuggle three tonnes of untaxed tin ingots and powder in the district’s waters earlier this month.
The accused, Zulkifli, 46, Suhaimi, 30, and Basri, 45, entered their guilty pleas after the charges were read before Magistrate Aimi Nawwar Mohamad Othman.
They were jointly charged with transporting and transferring untaxed goods comprising 121 packages containing tin ingots and powder with a total weight of 3,000 kilogrammes.
The offence was allegedly committed at about 3.45pm on August 4, approximately 0.2 nautical miles north-west of Tanjung Telaga.
The three men were charged under Section 135(1)(e) of the Customs Act 1967 (Act 235), punishable under Section 135(1)(iii)(aa) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
Upon conviction, a first-time offender faces a fine of at least 10 times the value of the goods or RM50,000, whichever is higher, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
The prosecution was handled by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) prosecuting officer Wardah Nasuha Safian, while all three accused were unrepresented.
The prosecution previously requested a new mention date as it had yet to receive a geological report concerning the seized materials.
No bail was offered to the three accused.
The court allowed the prosecution’s request and fixed September 25 for mention of the case.
Based on the facts of the case, MMEA personnel encountered two boats behaving suspiciously while conducting an operation in the waters off Batu Pahat.
Further inspection found that one of the boats, which was carrying the accused, was believed to have been transporting tin ore before the material was transferred to another boat.
