Three people, including a woman, have been brought before a Malaysian court over charges of arranging the smuggling of a Sri Lankan national in July.
The accused — Malaysians G. Santhiya Darshini (27) and Janarthanan Appupillai (46), along with Sri Lankan national Vtheewaran Palani (48) — had the charges read in Tamil before the judge. While they acknowledged understanding the charges, no plea was recorded, as the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Prosecutors allege the trio arranged for the smuggling of a Sri Lankan migrant through Terminal 1 of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on July 10. They were charged under Section 26C of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code. If convicted, they could face up to 15 years in prison, a fine, or both.
In a related case, 21-year-old Sri Lankan national Antany Sujan Antany Ranjan was charged with using a false passport in another person’s name to facilitate migrant smuggling at KLIA’s international departure gate.
He faces charges under Section 26E of the same Act, which carries a sentence of seven to 15 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM500,000, or both. No plea was recorded in his case either.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Anisah Pisol and Norhidayah Abdullah Sani opposed bail for all accused and requested the cases be transferred to the Shah Alam High Court, a request the court granted.
