The accused, comprising two army officers and four policemen, were brought before judge Zahilah Mohammad here on Thursday .
The two military men were Zaifol Abdul Hamid, 43, and army sargeant Mohammad Riduan Razali, 35, while the four police personnel were Saddam Hussen Ismail, 29; Hong Tiong Khim, 24; Muhamad Safuan Taharin, 29; and Mohd Ariff Mustafa, 54. According to the charge sheets, they aided an organised crime syndicate “Geng Otong” between Sept 28, 2017 and April 2020 in the district.
All were charged under Section 130W of the Penal Code , which carries a maximum 10 years imprisonment upon conviction.Deputy public prosecutors Idham Abd Ghani and Rohaiza Abd Rahman prosecuted, while lawyers Lydiana Mansor, Ahmad Yusri Ahmad Fuad, Jefri Jaafar and Farid Aziz represented the six accused.
Early last month, a total of 51 individuals, including 24 Malaysians and 27 Indonesian and Myanmar nationals, were charged at the same court for being part of an organised gang carrying human smuggling activities since 2015.