Singaporean gets three-year jail term for trafficking two Pinays

A Malaysian court on Friday sentenced to three years in jail a Singaporean national who it found guilty of trafficking two Filipino women four years ago. The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur convicted Eugene Beng Hua Lim a.k.a. Alfred Lim on two counts of human trafficking, and sentenced him to a three-year prison term for each count. Lim, 40, will concurrently serve the two three-year terms for each of the two cases of trafficking, Malaysia’s The Star reported. Sessions judge Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain found Lim guilty of trafficking Marivic Relon Capistrano, 35, and Marilou de la Cruz Bagsit, 37, at No. 18, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 15, Kepong, at 5 a.m. on June 30, 2008. Section 12 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 provides for a maximum jail term of 15 years and a fine, The Star reported. On the other hand, The Star report said the judge allowed an application by Lim’s counsel for a stay of the execution of sentence pending appeal to the High Court. But the judge ordered that a bail of RM40,000 (P560,221) in one surety be raised to RM50,000 (P700,277) and that Lim surrender his passport to the court and report to the nearest police station once a month pending settlement of the appeal. The Philippine embassy in Malaysia welcomed the conviction. “Bagsit, Capistrano and other victims of human trafficking need not wait any longer. Justice finally prevailed,” said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Jose Eduardo Malaya. Malaya also thanked the Malaysian government, particularly the Attorney General’s Chambers and police authorities, for its strong partnership in the campaign against human trafficking. The embassy noted Malaysia’s Attorney General’s Chambers had filed criminal charges against Lim in July 2009, based on the complaints of Bagsit and Capistrano. It cited the diligent work done by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Ashiqin binte Zulkipli in handling the case. Court records showed that in June 2008, Bagsit, Capistrano and four other Filipino women fled the placement agency office of Lim after enduring prolonged periods of abuse and maltreatment. They sought the assistance of the Philippine Embassy and cooperated with Malaysian authorities in pursuing criminal charges against Lim. In June 2010, Bagsit and Capistrano testified in court that they were recruited with insufficient documentation in their Luzon hometowns by Lim’s Filipino agent. Both were then deployed in Malaysia as domestic workers where they were mistreated by their employers. They initially sought refuge at Lim’s agency only to suffer verbal and physical abuse during their stay there. Lim allegedly threatened them they will be sold to prostitution to recover the expenses he incurred in recruiting and deploying them. The Filipinas were repatriated to the Philippines three weeks after giving their testimonies in court. Meanwhile, the embassy also commended the efforts of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Severino Gaña, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center’s Susan Ople, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, and Consul General Renato Villa and ATN Officer Ariel Esparto. — LBG, GMA News