A total of 373 individuals, out of 680 Chinese nationals arrested in an immigration bust on suspected online cheating operations conducted in Cyberjaya on Nov 20, were charged in the Sessions Court in Sepang today for being in the country without valid passes.

The charge under the Immigration Act 1959/63 was read out to all 373 detainees in batches and in Mandarin, by four translators from the Immigration Department.

The three-hour long proceedings took place before judge Tengku Shahrizam Tuan Lah.

Among all those charged today, 321 pleaded guilty and out of this number, 290 were sentenced to four months imprisonment from the date of arrest, while 31 others were fined RM5,000 and ordered to be deported - they also face four months imprisonment if their fines are not paid.

A remaining 52 individuals among the 373 charged today, will have their cases mentioned again on Jan 10 to enable checks on the authenticity of their passports to be conducted in the meantime.

In the raid on Nov 20, which took place at about 3.30pm in a six-storey building, more than 100 other individuals managed to escape.

- Bernama