Bail Allowed For 2 Charged With Harbouring 24 Migrants

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M Vathanan, 44, (in green) was allowed bail by the High Court in Penang. With him are his lawyers E Gnasegaran (right) and Audrey Wee (second from left).GEORGE TOWN: The High Court has allowed two locals, detained since June for allegedly harbouring 24 Myanmar immigrants, to be freed on bail after taking into account that one of them is severely ill and the other is a woman.
M Vathanan, 44, and T Krishnaveni, 55, were charged with harbouring and smuggling 24 migrants under Section 26H of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, on June 13. It carries a maximum 10-year jail term or fine.
They were subsequently detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 or Sosma.
Their lawyers, E Gnasegaran and Audrey Wee told the court the detention was unconstitutional as Sosma did not cover human trafficking cases. They cited a Court of Appeal case involving Khairuddin Abu Hassan vs public prosecutor to prove their argument.
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They also said Vathanan’s severe health problems were not looked into, despite the court ordering the prisons department to do so.
In delivering his ruling, High Court judge Radzi Abdul Hamid disagreed with the constitutionality claim but allowed bail for the two after taking into account their circumstances.
Radzi said Krishnaveni, by virtue of being a woman, was allowed bail under Sosma. He fixed bail at RM20,000 in two sureties.
Radzi also allowed bail for Vathanan, who appeared to be suffering from a severe respiratory ailment. Earlier, Vathanan had vomited blood in the dock. He was allowed bail of RM25,000 in two sureties.
They were both ordered to report to the nearest police station in Kepala Batas every two weeks and their travel documents, if any, were to be surrendered to the court.
Deputy public prosecutor S Kirubini prosecuted. - FMT

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