ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS
PRESS RELEASE
FRIDAY, 3RD OCTOBER 2025
BANGLADESHI NATIONAL SENTENCED IN THE HIGH COURT FOR HUMAN
TRAFFICKING
Khairul Bashar, a male Bangladeshi national charged with six counts of trafficking in
persons under Section 4 of the Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons Order, 2004 was
sentenced to a total of 7 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, a fine of $120,000 (in default
60 months' imprisonment) and 12 strokes on 2 October 2025. The Defendant had been
convicted following his guilty plea entered during the course of trial. He had admitted to
having recruited six male Bangladeshi nationals between 1 January 2018 and 30 March
2019 through deception for the purposes of exploitation through forced labour in Brunei
Darussalam. The prescribed penalty for such an offence is fine not exceeding BND
1,000,000, imprisonment for a term of not less than 4 years but not exceeding 30 years
and whipping.
In handing down his Sentencing, The Honourable Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme
Court Muhammed Faisal bin PDJLD DSP Haji Kefli remarked that the presence of multiple
victims greatly increases the seriousness of the offence as it demonstrates that the
Defendant's conduct was not opportunistic or confined to a single act, but a sustained
pattern of exploitation that preyed upon a group of vulnerable men. The Court considered
as a grave aggravating factor the significant hardship endured by the victims, stemming
from the Defendant’s deceptive assurances of lucrative employment in Brunei
Darussalam. The victims had been compelled to meet the financial demands of the
Defendant during the recruitment phase, only to face unemployment or
underemployment marked by low and irregular wages, trapped in conditions of
dependency with their passports confiscated and subjected to threats of repatriation
should they fail to make monthly payments to the Defendant. In concurrence with the Prosecution’s submissions, the Court further highlighted that the offence of trafficking in
persons constitutes a grave and heinous violation of human rights, subjecting victims to
the absolute control of traffickers, stripping them of personal autonomy and reducing
them to mere instruments of exploitation.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Hajah Rozaimah binti Haji Abd Rahman and Hajah Siti
Mu’izzah binti Haji Sabli represented the Public Prosecutor and counsels from Daud
Ismail & Company for the Defendant.
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