KANGAR: A mother of two and an underage girl today claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to two counts of pimping out minors for sex exploitation at a budget hotel in Kangar early this month.
The accused, Shakila Latif, 25, from Sik, Kedah and a 17-year-old girl from Langkawi only nodded when the charges were read by a court interpreter before Judge Musyiri Peet.
For the first count, the duo is jointly charged with trading a 16-year-old girl for sex exploitation purposes in room 309 of a budget hotel in Persiaran Jubli Emas, Kangar.
The alleged offence took place at 6.20pm on July 2, 2024.
The duo is also charged with jointly trading a 14-year-old girl, who did not have an identification card for sex exploitation in room 301 of the same budget hotel.
They are charged with committing the offence at about 6.25pm the same day.
The charges were framed under Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007, which provides lifetime imprisonment or no less than five years' jail and whipping.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Alia Suzila Chek Pi prosecuted the case while both accused were not represented.
Alia urged the court not to offer bail to both accused as they are charged with a serious offence or to set at least RM40,000 bail each.
In mitigation, Shakila pleaded for a lower bail amount as she has two children to support from her income at a laundry shop.
Meanwhile, a woman, who appeared for the underaged accused, pleaded to the court for a minimum bail amount as their parents were not making a steady income.
Musyiri subsequently fixed the bail at RM25,000 for each accused and ordered the duo to report to the police station every month pending the trial process.
The court also set Aug 22 for a mention date and to allow both accused to engage a lawyer.
On July 2, police arrested the duo on suspicion of pimping the underage girls for sex exploitation at a budget hotel.
The duo was believed to have transited at the hotel while taking the girls from Langkawi to Cameron Highlands in Pahang.