Dial N for 'not guilty': Four sentenced over fake phones

FOUR Chinese nationals who pleaded not guilty to two separate charges of being in possession of uncustomed mobile phones and being in possession of radio communications equipment changed their pleas yesterday.

This turn of events led Senior Magistrate Muhammed Faisal PDJLD DSP Hj Kefli to sentence the defendants for violating the Telecommunications Order 2001 and the Customs Order 2006.

The sentence handed down to Qiu Tianhe, 22, was a fine of $1,000 or face two months in jail for the first charge, while he was sentenced a fine of $800 in default of one month in jail for the second charge.

Liu He Jun, 29, was sentenced $1,000 in default of two months' jail for the first charge and $1,000 in default of two months in jail for the second charge.

Qiu Ho, 46, was fined $1,000 or face two months in jail for the first charge, while he was sentenced a fine of $800 in default of one month in jail for the second charge.

The sole female in the case, Li Shiying, 52, was fined $1,000 in default of two months' imprisonment for the first charge and $1,500 or face a jail sentence of three months for the second charge.

The defendants had a total of 32 mobile phones in their possession, with an estimated value of $20,000.

The phones, which were made in China, were suspected to be reproductions of the Nokia N Series mobile phones.

Pleading for mitigation before the Senior Magistrate handed down their sentences, all the defendants repeated their claim that they were unaware and had no knowledge of the laws in Brunei on selling mobile phones in the country.

They arrived in Brunei on December 30, 2009, and were arrested the following day for attempting to sell the phones at a shopping complex in Berakas. The Brunei Times