Malaysian employment agency owner fined RM130,000 for human trafficking

42-year-old Malaysian employment agency owner Yew Shen Chwan was fined RM130,000 or 35 months' jail by the Sessions Court on Tuesday (Apr 25) after he pleaded guilty to recruiting four illegal Indonesian immigrants as maids and trafficking in five other Indonesian women for forced labour.

According to Bernama, judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar imposed the sentence on Yew, when he changed his plea to guilty on the seventh day of trial.

Yew admitted taking in the four illegal immigrants, in their 20s and 40s, who did not have a valid permit to work at his agency. For the offence, he was fined RM20,000 for each illegal immigrant engaged to work, in default 20 months' jail.

Furthermore, Yew was also fined RM10,000 or three months jail for each of the immigrants when he pleaded guilty to trafficking in five other Indonesian women for forced labour.

Meanwhile, two agency employees Yati Taunu, 29, and Sri Wati, 23, were each jailed three years when they also pleaded guilty to nine counts of trafficking the victims.

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