KOTA KINABALU (Aug 12): Four individuals were sentenced by a High Court here on Tuesday to three and a half years’ imprisonment for separate charges of assisting an organised crime group in committing a serious offence in order to obtain a material benefit.

Josepin J. Langkan, 38, Nasir Abdul Rasid, 60, Vireonis Jonok, 35, and Leong Hin Ping, 62, pleaded guilty before Justice Datuk Duncan Sikodol to their alternative charges under Section 130W of the Penal Code.

The offence carries a jail term of up to 10 years, upon conviction.

They admitted to assist the organised crime group in furthering its interests between April 26 and July 10, 2024, at the MBSB Bank branch here.

Meanwhile, Mazlani Jenuary, 53, who had also pleaded guilty to a similar alternative charge, will be sentenced on September 22.

His sentencing was put off following a request by his counsel.

The prosecution had offered these alternative charges against them following the acceptance of their representation to the deputy public prosecutor’s office.

The court heard that Josepin, Nasir, Vireonis and Leong were arrested at separate locations between June 28 and July 12, 2024.

In mitigation, their lawyers, among others prayed for a lenient sentence on the grounds that all their clients were first offenders and they had regretted with what they had done.

Counsel Luke Ressa Balang had submitted that Vireonis is suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) disease and argued that a lengthy jail sentence would seriously affect his health.

In reply, the prosecution urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence and to take into account public interest and the seriousness of the offence.

Besides Luke, Josepin, Leong and Vireonis were also represented by counsel Hairul Vaiyron Othman, while Nasir was represented by counsel Dominic Chew.

On June 13, three of the 10 individuals charged with a similar offence were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the same court.