BUKIT MERTAJAM – A dozen men and women were fined RM3,000 by the magistrates’ court here, today, for being involved in a fake moneylending scheme worth RM1.94 million.
The charge sheet stated that the 12 individuals, aged between 19 and 29 years old, were accused of committing an illegal criminal conspiracy – offering a non-existent loan scheme.
The offence was allegedly committed on June 15 at 12.45pm at a luxury condominium in Bandar Perda, here.
They were charged under Section 120B(2) of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of six months or a fine, or both.
Magistrate Mohd Harith Mohd Mazlan passed the sentence on Foo Shi Jie, 19; Muhammad Syafiq Aiman Mohd Sofian, 19; Nornajihah Sutiman, 19; Chan Zi Quan, 21; Ryman Shah Razes, 21; and Ng Zi Xuan, 21.
Another batch, consisting of Muhammad Faisal Zainal Akbar, 22; Tan Chia Yee, 22; Ainul Taherah Johari, 22; Low Jia Chun, 22; Muhammad Hafiz Shamsul, 26; and Muhammad Norzulhilme Sumari, 29, also received the same sentence after pleading guilty.
The case was handled by deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Syafiq Nasrullah Saleem Ali, while all the accused were represented by lawyer Benjamin Tan Yi Bin.
During the proceedings, Syafiq asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence as an example to the community.
Tan, however, applied for a reduced sentence for all the accused who had been detained for 19 days, apart from the fact that they also had no previous criminal records.
“Besides that, most of the accused were unemployed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of them were college students and factory workers earning RM1,500,” he added.
The court then imposed a fine of RM3,000 each on all the accused and if they failed to pay, they would be jailed for six months. – The Vibes, July 4, 2022
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