Sabah Immigration knew of Albert's court visit, lawyer insists

The lawyer for whistleblower Albert Tei has challenged the Sabah Immigration Department to prove that his client failed to inform officers that he was entering the state for a court case.

This came following the department stating that they barred Tei (above) on Thursday because he allegedly told them his purpose of entry was to “jalan-jalan” (sightseeing) and meet friends.

Mahajoth Singh claimed the statement issued by Sabah immigration director Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof was “factually inaccurate, misleading, and inconsistent” with records in the department’s possession.

“Firstly, my client clearly informed the immigration officer on duty that he was entering Sabah to attend a court case fixed for Oct 24, 2025, at the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court.

“He expressly stated this when questioned about his purpose of entry.

“If the department insists otherwise, it must produce the official record of that exchange,” he said in a statement.

The lawyer was also puzzled by the department suggesting it was unaware of Tei’s scheduled court case, describing it as “unfathomable”.

According to Mahajoth, the state immigration director was informed by his client through a letter dated Oct 2.

On top of this, he said, the Sabah Attorney-General’s Chambers had also sent a letter dated Oct 6 to notify about the case.

“It is therefore disingenuous for the director now to claim ignorance or to suggest that immigration officers were unaware of my client’s legal obligations.

“The director’s current version directly contradicts the correspondence addressed to her office,” Mahajoth said.

When contacted, Sitti Saleha defended the department's action and reaffirmed its earlier statement that Tei did not inform officers he was entering Sabah to attend a court case.

She said it was Tei's responsibility to produce the necessary letter to the immigration upon arrival, and he would have been allowed to enter if he had done so on Wednesday.

Tei reportedly flew to Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday to attend the mention of his criminal case scheduled for the next day.

However, upon arrival, the whistleblower in the mining licence scandal was served with an entry refusal notice, purportedly under the instruction of caretaker Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor.

The Sabah immigration director later issued a statement saying Tei was turned away because he allegedly told officers that he came to Sabah for sightseeing and to meet friends.

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