BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

A MAN was found guilty for using his Kg Sg Buloh Landless Indigenous Citizens Housing Scheme (STKRJ) house as a brothel.

The 54-year-old defendant, Sohaili Hj Matali, denied the charge of allowing his house to be used as a brothel in November 2013.

In his defence, Sohaili said he rarely stays at the house and that he was unaware of the activities there.

During the court proceedings yesterday, Magistrate Azrimah Hj Abd Rahman found the defendant guilty after the prosecution had proven that Sohaili stays at the house and he had permitted the use of his house as a brothel.

Among the witnesses called by the prosecution were two Indonesian women who had rented the room over a period of two months while they provided prostitution services. The prosecution witnesses told the court that the defendant would often be at the house.

In his statement to the police, the defendant said he knew of the activities at the house when he said the house was used a brothel and received $10 in rent from two Indonesian women each time they used the room. The case is scheduled to be further mention on June 27 for the court to deliver its verdict on Sohaili’s application for the sentence to be deferred until after Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

The defendant could face up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Meanwhile, Sohaili has been released on a $3,000 court bail and two local sureties pending the sentencing.

The Brunei Times