The High Court here today allowed the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Council’s (MAINS) application to strike out the originating summons (OS) filed by a woman seeking to declare herself as a non-Muslim.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Haldar Abdul Aziz made the decision after reviewing the affidavits and written submissions submitted by MAINS and the 46-year-old businesswoman as the plaintiff. In today's proceedings, MAINS was represented by Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar, Danial Farhan Zainul Rijal, and Muhammad Hariz Md Yusoff, while the Malaysian government and the National Registration Department (NRD) were represented by Senior Federal Counsel Amalina Zainal Mokhtar, with the applicant represented by lawyer S. Karthigesan. The plaintiff filed an originating summons against the Malaysian government, MAINS, and NRD as the first to third respondents on March 23 last year. Through the originating summons, the woman sought for the NRD to amend and update her personal information records to indicate her non-Muslim religion in the registration system. The applicant also requested an immediate change of her Malay name to an Indian female name. Speaking to reporters, Karthigesan said his client was converted from Hinduism to Islam by her father when she was just four years old. Meanwhile, Zainul Rijal said that MAINS filed the application to striking out the case on June 28 last year, arguing that the applicant is a Muslim, adding that if the applicant wishes to change her religion, the application must be made in the Shariah Court, not the Civil Court. He said the woman was previously married to a Muslim man and they divorced in the Selangor Shariah Court. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has seized a total of 87.8kg of narcotics worth nearly RM2.6 million in Sarawak from January until March 12 this year, said its state director Norizan Yahya.
He said this included a bust involving 46kg of methamphetamine worth RM1.5 million at a house in Matang on March 6, where a local man in his 20s — suspected to be a member of a drug syndicate — was arrested. “The drugs were found packed into 45 tea packages and hidden inside four sacks containing bundle clothes. “Early investigation found that the suspect was tasked with delivering the drugs to customers in Kuching,” he told a press conference here yesterday, adding the suspect has been remanded for seven days starting March 7 for further investigation. Norizan said the syndicate, believed to have been operating for the past several months, would bring drugs from the peninsula into Sarawak by packing them with bundle clothes to avoid detection. The department’s Narcotics Division is currently working to track down several more members of the syndicate, he added. On the major Customs busts in Sarawak this year, he said one took place at Sibu Airport on Jan 11 which saw the arrest of one local man, and the other at Miri Airport on Jan 31 which also saw one local man arrested. “Each suspect was found with 15kg of methamphetamine. They are on remand until their case is mentioned in court,” he said. Norizan also called on the public to channel information to Customs to help the department combat the smuggling of drugs and other contrabands. “Drug smuggling is a threat to national security. Anyone with information on such activities can call 1-800-88-8855 or any Customs office in the state. “The identity of informants will be kept strictly confidential,” he said. The Sabah Customs crippled an attempt to smuggle in 10.79 kilogrammes of drugs (methamphetamine) worth RM356,070 through the courier service at Jalan Bakau, here on March 9.
Sabah Zone Customs assistant director Datuk Mohd Nasir Deraman said a team carrying out operations raided a premises between 12 noon to 1pm yesterday and found 10 packagings containing drugs. “The drugs were hidden among packed foodstuff and placed inside a courier box and labelled as angling items. The courier boxes containing the drugs are believed to have been brought from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau via the land route,” he told reporters during a media conference, here yesterday. Meanwhile, the customs also foiled an attempt by a sawmill to export 101 pieces of teak wood via a container to India without a proper permit and using false declaration and seized the items together with the Sabah Forestry Department on Feb 23. “When containers were screened at the Tawau Port, two of three containers contained suspicious items and did not look like items that were listed up in the Customs declaration form. Upon inspection, one container had 101 teak wood while another container contained 1,514 pieces of teak wood, all worth RM80,322.23. Following the seizure of the items, Mohd Nasir said the department would be calling up the managers of the courier service company and the sawmill to assist investigations. Mohd Nasir said the department welcomed members of the public to contact the Customs Toll-free number 1-800-88-8855 or any Customs office nearby if they came across illegal activities in their respective areas. He added that the identity of the informers would not be revealed. The Penang Royal Malaysian Customs Department foiled an attempt to smuggle in white cigarettes estimated to be worth RM1.8 million in a container during an inspection in Port Klang, Selangor on March 7.
State Customs director Roselan Ramli said the inspection was conducted when the container anchored at the port at about 10.40am. “Upon further inspection, we discovered 900 boxes containing nine million sticks of white cigarettes worth about RM1.8 million with a total tax of RM6.12 million,” he told a press conference here today. Roselan said based on the documents obtained, the container, which originated from a Southeast Asian country, was managed by a shipping company with a branch in Port Klang and imported by a company based in Selangor. He said that investigations found that the modus operandi of the syndicate is to declare the items as furniture to avoid detection by the authorities. “Further investigations are underway to track down the suspects involved in the smuggling activities,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated under the Customs Act 1967 and the Excise Act 1976. Poultry wholesaler in Perak fined RM10,000 for selling standard chicken above ceiling price3/19/2024 A chicken wholesaler was fined RM10,000 by the Sessions Court here today for selling standard chicken above the ceiling price set by the government last October.
Judge Rohaida Ishak meted out the fine, in default of four months in jail, on Sharuddin Saidon, 54, after he pleaded guilty to the charge. Sharuddin was charged with selling controlled goods, namely standard chickens at RM8.90 per kilogramme (kg), exceeding the maximum wholesale price set at RM8.10 per kg as stipulated in Paragraph 3 of Section 11 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Determination of Maximum Price) Determination) Order (No 12) 2022. The offence was committed at Premis Ewanda Maju Berkat Enterprise at 27D, Jalan Besar, Padang Rengas here between 6.30 am and 7 am on Oct 14 last year. The charge under Section 11 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 is punishable under Section 18 (b) of the same Act with a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both. Perak KPDN deputy public prosecutor Hasyutantee Khalil prosecuted, while the accused was not represented. Police confirmed that there was no foul play involved in the death of a woman at a hotel room in the city, early this morning.
Johor Baru Selatan police chief ACP Raub Selamat said initial investigations revealed that there were no signs of a struggle or marks found on the woman’s body. He said police received a call from members of the public that a woman was found unconscious inside a hotel room at about 3.30am this morning. “A check carried out by medical officers from the Health Ministry who arrived at the scene, revealed that the 40-year-old woman was already dead. “The case has been classified as sudden death and the body was later sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for post mortem to determine the cause of death,” he said in a statement today. He also urged anyone with information about the incident to contact the JBS police headquarters at 07- 2282323 or contact the Investigating Officer, Inspector Asri Jamalin at 014-6270324. A 30-year-old man was arrested by police following an attempt to abduct an eight-year-old girl outside her house here recently.
Kuching police chief ACP Ahsmon Bajah said a police report on the alleged incident, which happened at a housing area near Kuching International Airport, was lodged at 6.55pm on March 11. “The girl was playing outside her house when the incident happened. Acting on information from the public, police arrested the man at the scene and seized a sedan car used during the incident,” he said in a statement. Ahsmon said the case is being investigated under Section 365 the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment which may extend to seven years and also liable to a fine, upon conviction. He said initial investigations found the suspect was a person with learning difficulties and has been receiving treatment at Sarawak General Hospital since 2001 for attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). A background check also found that the suspect did not have any prior criminal records, he added. “On March 15 at 9am, the suspect was brought to court and charged under Section 365 of the Penal Code read together with Section 511 of the same Code. “The court ordered the suspect to be detained at Sentosa Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, and the case will be mentioned again on April 22 after medical reports are received,” he said. Ahsmon also extended his gratitude to the public for their swift action in apprehending the suspect, and reminded the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the authorities. It was learned that the father of the girl had posted about the incident on Facebook. Police confirmed that an 18-month-old baby boy, Muhammad Uwais Mohd Khairul, was believed to have died after his mother slit his throat in a tragic incident in Pasir Gudang yesterday.
Seri Alam police chief Supt Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the baby boy was in the hall of the house when the incident happened. “.... it was due to the ‘slash wound to the neck’ and until now a neighbour has been called up and a statement recorded to assist investigations,” he said when contacted today. Sohaimi when asked if the suspect had a mental disorder, he did not elaborate further. The mother, 32, has been remanded for seven days to assist investigations while the remand order was issued by Magistrate Suhaili Sapun at the Hospital Permai in Tampoi, here. During the 1.30pm incident, the mother is believed to have slashed her son’s throat, snapped a picture of the son in a pool of blood, and sent the picture to her husband through the Whatsapp application on her phone. Police also found a knife at the scene, believed to have been used by the suspect during the incident. He added that the body of the baby boy was sent to the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) for post mortem and later claimed by the father after investigations had been completed and is expected to be buried in Felda Redong, Segamat. The case will be investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder. Police raided 11 premises believed to be involved in prostitution activities in the Jalan Pudu and Jalan Bukit Bintang areas here yesterday.
Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Noor Dellhan Yahaya said the premises that were raided included seven massage parlours, and two prostitution dens and food courts respectively. According to him, the raids were carried out between 2.30 pm and 11 pm, with police detaining 47 individuals comprising eight locals including two women, and 39 foreign nationals, all aged between 18 and 60. “Several items were seized in the operation, including 20 flower necklaces (tip payments), massage oil, seven advertisements for massage packages, mobile phones and RM4,730 in cash,” he said in a statement today. Noor Dellhan said preliminary investigations found that the modus operandi used in the said premises was to provide flower garlands to customers who wanted sex services. “Customers will pay a certain price for the services of foreign women,” he said. He added that all suspects were remanded today and the case is being investigated in accordance with Section 372B of the Penal Code, and Section 55B and Section 6 (1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. The Johor Immigration Department has arrested 44 foreigners during a raid at an entertainment centre in Iskandar Puteri last weekend.
The raid, part of an Immigration Department operation called “Ops Gegar”, targeted foreign women who acted as stage entertainers that are popular in nightspots here. Johor Immigration director Baharuddin Tahir said the raid, initiated from public tip-offs, took place on last Friday at 12.10am. He said the department was made aware that there have been cases of foreign women involved with immoral activities and were illegally working in the country without proper documentation or permits. “A total of 42 foreign women, who worked as ‘flower girls’, were arrested. The raid included their living quarters located on the third floor of the premise. “Initial investigations revealed that each woman is paid between RM50 and RM500 for their services. “Further checks revealed that the women had violated their social visit passes and temporary employment visit passes,” said Baharuddin in a statement today. In addition, Baharuddin said the department’s enforcement team also arrested two men from China and Bangladesh to assist in investigations. He said out of the 42 foreign women, 40 were from Thailand while one was from Indonesia and another from Myanmar. “All those arrested are between the ages of 25 and 45,” he said. Baharuddin said the case is being investigated under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 for overstaying and Rule 11(7)(a) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating their social visit passes. In a separate case, the Johor Immigration Department arrested 63 foreigners for working without proper permits in several raids here last week. Baharuddin said the raids, held from March 13 to March 17, saw 26 premises inspected within the Johor Baru district. “Those arrested were 21 men from Bangladesh, eight men from India, eight men from Nepal, six men from Pakistan, two men from Indonesia, five women from Indonesia and one woman from the Philippines. “In addition, there were also four men, four women, two boys and a girl, all from Myanmar who were apprehended during the raids,” he said, adding that those arrested were aged between 3 and 61. Baharuddin said the case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63 for entering the country without valid travel documents and overstaying. He added that authorities are also investigating the case under Section 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating their visit pass requirements. The Immigration Department has been cracking down on undocumented migrants and visitors since last year, especially those who misuse their social visit passes to work without valid documents. |
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