Restaurant owners fined for hiring illegals

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Chin (second right) and Goh (right) after the sentencing yesterday.

TAWAU: Two restaurant owners were fined RM45,000 each for hiring three illegal immigrants at their business premises by the Sessions Court here today.

Chin Kwang Vui, 49, and Goh You Chai, 61, pleaded guilty to the charge of hiring two Indonesian women – Jessica Samuel, 21, and Margareta Sanoa, 36, and Filipino Felixander Subida, 30, at a restaurant in August 2019.

Both accused were charged with jointly allowing the illegal immigrants to enter and stay at Weijiabao Noodle House, Kubota Central, Jalan Kubota, at 11.40am on August 17, 2019.

Sessions Court judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud meted out the sentence after both accused pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 55 E (1) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963, which carries a maximum fine of RM30,000 or a maximum jail term of 12 months or both for every illegal immigrant found on the premises upon conviction.

Awang Kerisnada fined each of the accused RM15,000 in default three months jail for each of the illegal immigrants they employed.

Immigration Department prosecuting officer Pilin Kenry prosecuted the case.