Indonesian woman jailed 6 years for trafficking teenager for sexual exploitation in Tawau

A RESTAURANT waitress was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by the Sessions Court in Tawau after pleading guilty to trafficking a teenage girl for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

The accused, Nur Aisyah Udin, 20, an Indonesian national without valid identification documents, entered her guilty plea immediately after the charge was read before Sessions Court Judge Ahmad Faizadh Yahaya.

She was charged with trafficking a girl aged 17 years, 10 months and 15 days for the purpose of sexual exploitation at a room in a homestay along Jalan Masjid (Fajar) at about 5.30pm on June 2.

She was charged under Section 14 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutors Nur Nisla Abd Latif and Suhayl Aminin Sallehuddin, while the accused was unrepresented.

In urging the court to impose an appropriate sentence, Nur Nisla said the discovery of RM150 in cash seized from the victim after she had allegedly just serviced a customer established the element of sexual exploitation.

According to the facts of the case, the accused was arrested during an Ops Pintas (Prostitution) raid conducted in conjunction with the Kaamatan Festival at the homestay, where enforcement officers found the teenage victim suspected of being involved in prostitution activities.

Further investigations revealed that the victim had been under the care of the accused, who allegedly acted as a pimp by controlling and managing the prostitution activities at the premises.

In a separate case heard on the same day, Nur Aisyah also pleaded guilty to entering Malaysia without valid travel documents.

For that offence, under Section 6(1)(c) and punishable under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Amendment 2002), the court imposed an additional six months' imprisonment.

Judge Ahmad Faizadh ordered both prison terms to run consecutively and directed that the accused be referred to the Immigration Department for further action upon completion of her sentence. - June 23, 2026