On Wednesday, August 4, a Malaysian court fined two men RM 40,000 (USD 9,484) for employing illegal immigrants, including Filipino women.
After pleading guilty to the allegations against them before Judge Azreena Aziz, Chong Soong Fatt, 62, and Lee Thau Vui, 67, were fined by the Sessions Court. For each illegal immigrant, Chong and Lee were sentenced to a 10,000 RM fine or two months in prison.
2 Face RM 40,000 Fine for Hiring Filipinas, Others Without Proper Documents
While Chong was discovered hiring three paperless Filipinos, including a woman, at the New Sheng Tat Sofa Sdn Bhd, Kg Mogonibung in Penampang at 11:51 a.m. on April 14, Lee was also found employing a 26-year-old Filipina at the same location, the Daily Express Online reported.
The allegation against Chong and Lee was laid under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (as amended in 2002), which stipulates that each illegal immigrant employee faces a fine of between RM30,000 and RM50,000, or a jail term of up to 12 months, or both. The inmates had asked for a reduced fine.
Lee pleaded that he was just working as a subcontractor and that he had resorted to this after struggling to find work during the present pandemic. Lee was a renter at the premises held by Chong, according to the prosecution officer for the Immigration Department.
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