Indon Woman And Local Man Plead Guilty To Meat Smuggling
By Rol Ezam

Bandar Seri Begawan – The Royal Customs and Excise Department has urged members of the public to tip off relevant authorities with information on vice activities in the country.

This move was made yesterday following the apprehension of a local man at Jalan Junjungan and an Indonesian woman at her home early Friday morning for evading customs duty and their conviction.

Information can be given through Customs hotline at 2382422 or 8714422. Identities of informers will be kept confidential.

Retno Mutiasih, 37, yesterday admitted to six charges of conveying undeclared goods by abetting a man and being in possession of uncustomed items before Magistrate Dk Hjh Norismayanti. She was fined a total of $14,352 or serve in jail for nine months and three weeks in default of the fine.

The man, identified as a 39-year-old local, Ahmad Bakar, was fined a total of $5,117 or serve jail for four months in default after pleading guilty to two charges of conveying uncustomed goods in his brother's car.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Norhayati DP Hj Omar yesterday told the court that the defendant instructed a man named Ahmad Bakar to fetch chicken and bovine parts from a house in Jln Junjungan and deliver the items to her house in Kg Kiarong on June 11, 2004, with an offer of $50 to $100.

At about 2.25 pm that day, Ahmad was arrested by several officers from the Customs Preventive and religious officers.

During an inspection, they uncovered 48 kg of Danish chicken wings, 64 kg of chicken rump, 36 kg of boneless chicken, 270 kg of Allana beef and 45.3 kg of beef lungs in the car. The total value of the undeclared goods was $2558.40.

Officers later went to the house in Kg Junjungan from where the items were obtained and found 112 kg of Danish chicken wings, 360 kg of Maju chicken wings, 32 kg of chicken rump, 120 kg of boneless chicken, 234 kg ofAllana beef and 10.1 kg of beef lungs. The total value of the items was $4,420.80.

Later, personnel conducted a search onto Retno's house and found 33.3 kg of whole chicken, 4 kg of chicken tail and 8.7 kg of Allana beef, which were valued at $197.40.

Retno said during investigations that she obtained all the items found at her house from a man, who told her that the items had been smuggled into the country from Limbang, Malaysia.

Retno said the items were intended for her own consumption while some were to be sold in the Gadong Wet Market.

The car in which the items were conveyed by Ahmad was forfeited to the state. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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