Kota Kinabalu: Another six individuals, including a woman, were sentenced to three years jail by the High Court here Thursday for assisting an organised criminal group, “Geng Upik”.
They were Mohd Fauzie Rablin, 34, Fazrul Bahar, 33, Shahlan Shah Abdul Samad, 38, Mazlan Mahmud, 49, Alkan Abraham, 36, and Norsyafilah Pawawoi, 28.
The six pleaded guilty before Judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng to the alternative charge of assisting an organised criminal group to further the interest of the group between 2015 and Dec 24, 2023.
The prosecution offered alternative charges under Section 130W of the Penal Code to the six individuals after accepting their representation letters, with all six following the path of the previous four who had pleaded guilty to similar charges.
On Tuesday (March 18), four men - Mahathir Jibarail, 49, Mohd Faridzul Asmahadi, 32, Mohd Fikri Asme, 29, and Manan Ungok @ Salleh, 52, pleaded guilty to the alternative charge before the commencement of the trial of the original charge—being members of the organised crime group “Geng Upik”—which was brought against all 15 accused.
The four were each then handed three years imprisonment from the date of their respective arrest dates.
The alternative charge carries an imprisonment of up to ten years while the original charge under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between five years and 20 years on conviction.
Meanwhile, in Thursday’s proceedings, the prosecution presenting the case facts informed the court that a police superintendent lodged a police report on Nov 23, 2023 concerning intelligence on an organised crime group known as “Geng Upik,” which was involved in dangerous drug trafficking activities.
Fauzie and Fazrul were arrested by police on Dec 24, 2023 respectively in Penampang and Kg Sepagaya, Lahad Datu.
Shahlan, Mazlan and Alkan were arrested by police on Dec 25, 2023, in the wee hours, at an entertainment outlet in Koidupan town in Penampang, all on suspicion of involvement in the organised crime group.
Meanwhile, Norsyafilah is currently serving 12 years jail since 2016 for drug possession under Section 39A of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Investigations by the investigating officer revealed that all six individuals had assisted the organised crime group “Geng Upik” in drug trafficking activities in Sabah, in providing material benefits and advancing the interests of the organised crime group.
The investigation also found that the organised crime group “Geng Upik” had engaged in dangerous drug trafficking in several serious offence cases: Tawau (three) and Manggatal (one).
The serious offences in Tawau include: In 2016 - An arrest under Section 39B involving an individual who had assisted the organised group “Geng Upik”, namely Syafilah Pawawoi, who was convicted and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment; - 2020 - An arrest involving the seizure of 53kg of syabu
with evidence indicating that the seized drugs were linked to the organised crime group “Geng Upik”; - 2023 - An arrest involving an individual involved in assisting “Geng Upik” under Section 39B, currently undergoing trial at the Tawau High Court.
In Manggatal - 2017 -Involved an arrest with the seizure of 4.6kg of syabu with evidence indicating that the seized drugs were linked to the organised crime group “Geng Upik.”
Dr Lim ordered Fauzie, Fazrul, Shahlan, Mazlan and Alkan to serve the imprisonment sentence from their respective dates of arrest, while Norsyafilah was ordered to serve the sentence from March 1, 2024.
The court struck out the original charges against all six individuals following the prosecution’s application to withdraw them.
Dr Lim fixed May 19 for mention of the case of the remaining five accused - Datuk Maslan Sani, 41, Nelson Yen Yee Chung, 46, Zulkahar Dusing, 38, Rahman Burijin, 44, and Jaisalfian Jaineh @ Zaini, 45.
The court also set June 3-5, June 11-13, July 15 - 18, Oct 7 - 10 and Oct 21 - 24 in the event the trial is proceed against the remaining five accused under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Nazran Mohd Sham, Lina Hanini Ismail, Siti Hajar Mat Radzi and Nur Ainaa Ridzwan.
Fauzie and Mazlan were represented by counsel Sylyester Kuan, Fazrul and Alkan by counsel Shahlan Jufri, Shahlan Shah by counsel Luke Ressa Balang, while Norsyafilah was represented by counsel Michelle Usman.
The remaining five accused – Maslan is now represented by counsel Hamid Ismail, Yen is represented by counsel Datuk Ram Singh, Zulkahar by counsel Shahlan Jufri, Rahman by counsel Jakariya Ab Jalil while Jaisalfian by counsel Muhamad Amirul Amin.
