Friday November 27, 2009
Four men freed from human-trafficking charges
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: Four men have been freed from charges of human-trafficking after the Sessions Court here found insufficient evidence against them.
Sessions judge Duncan Sikodol threw out the prosecution’s case against taxi driver Chin Shong Fook, business manager Kuan Seng Yon, and waiters Wong Chung Wei and Lee Ung Thong, without their defence being called in the case where they had been charged with “trading” two Filipina migrant workers for prostitution purposes.
The men claimed trial on July 18 to charges of having forcefully trafficked Lalane Fontanilla Balcorta, 29, and Gerlie Sanguyo Shin, 24, for commercial gains in Miri on July 3.
On July 3, the two women ran away and sought help from policemen at the Miri Central Police Station. They sought police protection and claimed that they had been forced to work as prostitutes.
They were charged under Section 13 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act which carries a jail term of between three and 20 years upon conviction.
Lawyers David Siaw and Keith Chin, who represented the four, said during the hearing the court must dismiss all the charges that were brought against their clients because the allegations were weak and without solid evidence.
They had said that the police investigation was flimsy with no collaborative evidence that the four had “traded’’ the women for ill-gotten gains.
The judge agreed with the counsels and yesterday ruled that the police investigation into the case was not sufficient to link the four to the alleged offences.
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