TAWAU: Eight Indonesians were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here, Tuesday, with possessing devices to conduct online gambling activities through a call centre.
However, all eight men pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Don Stiwin Malanjum after the charges were read out to them.
The accused, who hail from Jakarta, Binjai, Medan and Karawang, were identified as Amat Saputro, Ricky, Muhammad Oddy Nugraha, Micheal, Jeffry Yulius, Dedi Rahman, Jeancent Verianto Saputra and Malum Wasta Siagian. All eight have valid passports.
According to the charge sheets, they allegedly acted with common intention to control or possess devices, namely five laptops of various brands, used for online gambling activities involving a call centre and gambling credit transactions.
The alleged offence took place at a house in Taman Cynthia, Jalan Chong Thien Vun, here, at about 9pm on Oct 22 this year.
The charge was framed under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 (Act 289), read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
Upon conviction, the offence carries a fine of between RM10,000 and RM100,000 for each gambling machine seized, and imprisonment for up to five years.
The court set bail at RM5,000 for each accused, with two local sureties residing in Tawau, and imposed additional conditions requested by the prosecution.
The cases were fixed for mention on Nov 24 for pre-trial case management.
Earlier, prosecuting officer ASP Nur Intan Jamrin had proposed bail of RM8,000 for each accused, with two local sureties.
She also requested several conditions, including requiring the accused to report to the investigating officer once a month and surrender their passports to the court for retention.
All eight accused, who were unrepresented, appealed for lower bail, saying they were ordinary workers earning a living to support their families in Indonesia.
They also told the court that they had limited financial means, were not wealthy and were not locals in Sabah.
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