KOTA BARU: Three men were charged here today with entering the country using an illegal jetty in Rantau Panjang on Monday.
The three pleaded guilty to the offence before magistrate Mohd Izdham Naim Che Ani.
Izdham ordered the accused — boat operator Mohd Karlili Mohd Hussin, 33; and his two passengers, Lim Teik Hooi, 21, and Mohammad Azrol Azhar, 26 — to pay a fine of RM2,500 each.
The three committed the offence at the Pohon Jambu illegal jetty in Rantau Panjang on Dec 16.
They were caught by border authorities about 4pm.
Mahfuzah Hamizah Mohd Ariff prosecuted while the accused were represented by Tiara Shahira Mohd Wira from the National Legal Aid Foundation.
Earlier, Mahfuzah asked for an appropriate punishment as a lesson to the three for using the illegal route to enter the country.
Tiara, however, asked for a minimum fine for her clients.
The magistrate set a RM2,500 fine for each of them and imposed one-month jail sentence on them if they failed to pay the fine. All paid the fine.
The three were the first group to be charged with entering Malaysia illegally after police launched a crackdown on border crossings using illegal jetties on Dec 1.