KUALA LUMPUR – A businessman who made headlines after he escaped from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building in October last year was arraigned in the sessions court here on money laundering charges involving over RM2.1 million.
33-year-old Goh Leong Yeong, better known as Alvin, and his brother Goh Yeong Hui, 28, pleaded not guilty after all the seven charges against them were read before judge Datin Sabariah Othman.
The two directors of Malaysia House of Internet Sdn Bhd were alleged to have received RM2,144,000 in proceeds from illegal activities, in their company’s Public Bank Berhad account from two Chinese nationals at Public Bank Berhad, Jalan Bukit Bintang here between September 9 and November 7, 2019.
The charges were filed under Subsection 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years, and a fine five times the value of the proceeds from illegal activities, or RM5 million, whichever higher, if convicted.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Lee Keng Fatt asked the court to offer bail at RM300,000 in one surety for each accused, with the additional condition that they must report to the nearest police station once a month.
“I request the court to take into account that the amount involved is more than RM2 million, and both the accused are flight risks. Moreover, the bail offered is very reasonable as the case is serious.
“The first accused (Alvin) had also escaped in 2020, and could not be traced by the authorities for several weeks,” he said.
However, lawyer Jacky Loi Yap Loong who represented the two accused requested for bail to be set at RM30,000 for Yeong Hui, because Alvin could not be bailed as he was currently detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) 1959.
“My clients were previously charged at the special court (for illegal immigrant cases) in Semenyih with their passports handed over to the court, so there is no risk of them fleeing.
“However, to correct the record, my client did not escape, but was released on bail when he was detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,” said the lawyer.
The court then allowed each accused bail of RM200,000 in one surety, with the additional condition that they must report to the nearest police station once a month, and set May 24 for mention of the case and submission of documents.
Alvin was handcuffed and wearing a white Poca lock-up shirt when he arrived at the court at 11.05am in a van from the Prisons Department, and was tightly guarded by Immigration Department personnel.
On December 1 last year, Bernama reported that the main suspects behind the Macau Scam syndicate and online gambling activities, namely Zaidi Kanapiah, also known as Addy Kanna, and Alvin Goh, as well as two policemen, were detained for two years under Poca. – Bernama, April 12, 2021
