Kota Kinabalu: Five undocumented Filipinos were each jailed for one month by the Magistrate’s Court here for having tattoos and shirts linked to a banned group.
Malvin Keymar, Satall Tamsi Salim, Md Alih Abdul Bakar, Dian Timar and Nasir Badah @ Alex, aged between 22 and 34, pleaded guilty separately before Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin to charges under Section 50(1) of the Societies Act 1966.
Malvin, Satall, Md Alih and Dian were caught on Aug 28 at 6.30pm in a house at Kampung Ketiau, Putatan, for having a green tattoo on their respective right middle finger symbolising membership of the outlawed “Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Pembangunan Muslim Rakyat Bersatu (MRB)”.
Nasir, meanwhile, was found at the same place and time with three white T-shirts bearing the writings and logo of MRB.
Under the law, the offence carries a jail term of up to three months’ jail or a fine of up to RM3,000, on conviction.
All five, who were not represented, pleaded for leniency, saying they worked as labourers and have families depending on them.
Inspector Yusdi Basri, prosecuting, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence and applied for the five to be referred to the Immigration Department as they were undocumented.
Magistrate Marilyn ordered the sentences to run from the date of their arrest and directed that the five to be handed over to the Immigration Department after serving their terms.
