Malaysian court upholds three-year jail term of Singaporean for trafficking of two Pinays

Malaysia's High Court on Friday upheld the three-year jail term of a maid agency owner sentenced last March for the trafficking of two Filipino women in 2008. A report on the news site The Star said Justice Mohd Azman Husin threw out the bid of Eugene Lim Beng Huat Lim, 40, to nullify the case against him. However, Mohd Azman also dismissed a bid to increase the jail term, saying the court's decision was reasonable, the report added. The Star said the charge against Lim has a maximum term of 15 years in jail and a fine upon conviction. On March 30 this year, Lim, a Singaporean, was sentenced to three years in jail for trafficking Marivic Relon Capistrano, 35, and Marilou de la Cruz Bagsit, 37. The report said the trafficking incident had occurred at No. 18, Jalan Metro Perdana Barat 15, Kepong, at 5:00 a.m. on June 30, 2008. Earlier, Mohd Azman allowed Lim's lawyer M. Raman to lodge a petition before the Court of Appeal. He kept the bail at RM50,000 with one surety, with the additional conditions that Lim surrender his passport and report to the nearest police station once a month pending settlement of the appeal. - VVP, GMA News