Malawi national identity card
By Solister Mogha, MANA
Mulunguzi First Grade Magistrate Court in Zomba has sentenced three people — Zhen Wang (44), Austin Ingelesi (27) and Wikisi Uladi (24) — to pay a fine of K1 million each for unlawful possession of identity cards, which is contrary to Section 42 (i) paragraph (d) of the National Registration Act.
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The Court sitting on Friday heard through regional prosecution officer, Superintendent Josephine Chigawa that on June 20, 2021, the police were tipped that Ingelesi and Uladi were registering many SIM cards using Malawi national ID cards within Zomba City.
The court was told that the police acted quickly by following up the tip which led to the arrest of the two and seizure of 76 national ID cards.
During interrogations, the two confessed that they were requested by a Chinese businessman, Zhen Wang to solicit the cards in order to use them in registering SIM cards so that he could use them to order goods from China as separate individuals.
During the court hearing, the trio pleaded guilty and admitted to the charge levelled against them and in mitigation, they pleaded for court leniency, saying it was their first time to be involved in such an act and that they were ignorant of the law.
In her submission, Chigawa told the court that the offence committed was serious and attracts a stiffer punishment to deter other business operators who run away from paying revenue to government through such an act.
First Grade Magistrate, Jones Masula said the country would have lost a lot of revenue and that ignorance of law was not defence before the court of law — and thus ordering the three to pay a fine of K1 million each of which they have since paid.
Wang hails from Sichuan in China while Ingelesi and Uladi are from Machemba Village in Traditional Authority Mkula in Machinga.
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