The Wang Kelian tragedy in Perlis came to light in May 2015 when police uncovered 139 graves across 28 temporary camps in the jungle near the Thai-Malaysian border.
Justice Abazafree Abbas handed down the sentences after Suchat Tohdin, 38, Jehpa Lapi-E, 58, Somphon A-Dam, 53, Arun Kaeofainok, 31, and Amree Nesalaeh, 60, pleaded guilty to charges under Section 26H of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007, Utusan Malaysia reported.
All five, except Amree, were convicted of smuggling a Myanmar migrant, Mohd Belal, between August 2014 and March 2015.
Amree was charged with smuggling another Myanmar national, Zedul Islam, between February and April 2013.
The sentences were backdated to the men’s arrests – Feb 24, 2022 for Suchat, and June 22, 2023 for the others.
The prosecution was led by Izham Ali and Christopher Enteri Mawan. Suchat was represented by Fatin Hayati Abdul Rahman, while the others were represented by V Rajadevan.
The Wang Kelian tragedy came to light in May 2015, when police uncovered 139 graves across 28 temporary camps in the jungle near the Thai-Malaysian border in Wang Kelian.
Similar graves were also found near the border in Thailand.
The victims were said to have come from Myanmar and Bangladesh in search of jobs.
In 2019, a royal commission of inquiry was held to examine the evidence linked to the transit camps and mass graves. A total of 48 witnesses were called to testify.
The inquiry found that no Malaysians were involved, though border patrol negligence had contributed to the existence of the camps and graves. - FMT
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