KOTA KINABALU– A 30-year-old Filipino woman was slapped with a 70-year jail sentence for trafficking seven women related to sex exploitation.
Juvy Banting Del Rosario was handed the sentence by Sessions Court Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad after she was found guilty of the seven charges against her on Wednesday.
The mother of four broke down in tears when she was sentenced by Ainul to 10 years’ jail for each offence under Section 13 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling Migrants Act 2007.
Section 13 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling Migrants Act 2007 carries a maximum jail term of up to 20 years and a fine upon conviction.
The 10-year sentence is set to run concurrently from the date of her arrest in Labuan on October 22, 2015.
The court also ordered Del Rosario to be referred to the Immigration Department after completing her sentence.
Del Rosario had trafficked the seven Filipino women aged between 21 and 25 at an entertainment outlet along Jalan Bunga Dahlia in Labuan on October 22, 2015.
During mitigation, defense counsel Korvent E. Jomiji asked for a light sentence, saying that Del Rosario was a single mother with four children.
Jomiji told the court that Del Rosario was the breadwinner for her family and she hoped to be sent back to her hometown in the Philippines as soon as possible.
Del Rosario pleaded for forgiveness over what she had done.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah, who stood in for DPP Mohd Khairuddin Idrish, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on Del Rosario, arguing that trafficking in women for sex exploitation was a serious offence.
Hafizah also said that Del Rosario committed the offence knowingly in a “carefully planned and well-designed” manner.
A total of one defense and 14 prosecution witnesses testified during the hearing.