10 men fined after teacher’s RM3mil found in their bank accounts
Bernama-
June 10, 2022 10:28 PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Ten men were each fined RM1,000 by the magistrate’s court in Ampang today for failing to provide an explanation for RM3.14 million belonging to a male private teacher being found in their bank accounts.
The men pleaded guilty. They were:
Contractor Mohamad Saifuddin Ismail, 29; lorry driver Mohammad Anas Kamarudin, 31; security guard Muhammad Ariff Ahmad Tajuddin, 29; technician Muhamad Helmi Ahmad, 39; fisherman Mohd Syukur Maula Muhamad Desa, 32, security guard Mohd Hafiz Kamis, 38; businessman Muhammad Ikhwan Iswandy Ramli, 38; village worker Mohd Nizam Mat Jasat, 51; construction site supervisor Khairul Mizan Mohamad Johari, 31; and contractor S.Vikneswaran, 29.
They are to serve three months’ in jail in default if they fail to pay the fine.
According to the charge, they were accused of not being able to provide a satisfactory explanation on how they obtained the money, amounting to a total of RM3.14 million belonging to a 31-year-old private teacher, in February and April.
They were charged under the Minor Offences Act which provides for a maximum fine of RM1,000 or a maximum jail term of one year or both.
The prosecution told the court that the teacher had handed over his banking details to a man who phoned and introduced himself as the chief tax operating officer of the Inland Revenue Board.
The man said the teacher had tax arrears for 15 months amounting to RM17,600 on Trillion Star Enterprise, registered in the name of the complainant.
When the complainant denied the matter, the call was connected to another man who introduced himself as Inspector Faisal Amir and Kedah police chief of operations, called Datuk Rizal who claimed the complainant was involved in money laundering by using the complainant’s Public Bank Berhad account.
The complainant followed the suspect’s instructions and acted to open a new account and handed over the banking information to the suspect and the results of the investigation found that the money belonging to the complainant had been put into the bank accounts belonging to all the accused.
Mohd Faiz Fahmy Abdul Razak, lawyer for all the accused, applied for a minimum fine without imprisonment on the grounds that they had to support their families.
He said they had also been made victims and were not aware that their bank accounts were being used by a third party. “They did not get any benefit from the losses incurred by the complainant, ” he said.
However, deputy public prosecutors Annur Athirah Amran and Nurul Ameera Sam applied for a deterrent punishment in the public interest.
“As account holders, the accused need to be aware of transactions that take place in their own bank accounts when it involves a large amount. The court also needs to take into account the frequency of such cases where almost every day such cases are charged in court, besides the losses incurred by the complainant,” said the DPPs.
