A GEOLOGIST once associated with a Sabah government-linked company pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawfully ferrying gold concentrate residue for trade to a goldsmith located in Pahang.
Edwin James, 36, was fined RM32,000 by a Magistrate Court in Kota Kinabalu where it was also revealed that he had benefited approximately RM800,000 from these transactions.
James was charged for illegally transporting the scrap gold residue without a Mineral Transport Licence and traded them to the owner of Kedai Emas Sri Hawa (Goldsmith) in Raub, Pahang on four occasions in early 2020, October 2021, May 2022, and December 2022.
Magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles ruled that James either pay a fine of RM8,000 or face a jail term of 18 months for each charge.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Al-Hakim Abdul Razak told the court that James had initially been approached by an individual by the name of Brando, who sought contacts to process the gold residue.
Following their conversation, Brando brought the gold residue out from the controversial Bukit Mantri gold mining site in Tawau and transported onboard buses to the Inanam Bus Station in Kota Kinabalu to James.
James would then retrieve the gold residue from the bus station and airlift the precious metal to Kuala Lumpur, where he concealed the gold residue inside containers marked as “rock samples”.
He would then rent a car upon arrival and drive the gold residue to the gold shop in Raub, Pahang where he engaged with the shop owner to complete the trade.
James, who was represented by Chin Teck Ming, pleaded for leniency as his client risked losing his job and he has a wife, and two children to support.
James paid the fine.
The Bukit Mantri gold mining site in the East Coast district of Tawau has been alleged to be illegal as it has not ceased operations despite a federal directive.
The Federal Mineral and Geoscience Department’s chief inspector issued a stop work order on November 1 last year.
However, the state government maintains that the mining operation has been operating legally under the state mining laws - The Sabah Mining Ordinance 1960, which states that the Lands and Survey Director is the chief inspectorate of mining in Sabah.
But in February this year, Sabah Customs also confirmed they had seized 110 kg of gold bars and arrested several individuals who tried to bring the gold out of Tawau at the Tawau airport.
Customs assistant chief director (Sabah zone) Datuk Mohd Nasi Deraman was reported saying that he was initially informed the company’s licence had expired in 2023.
But later he said the gold bards were returned to the company after officers stated that there were no laws broken under the Customs Act, nor any other subsidiary laws under the same Act. - The Vibes, March 29, 2024
