KUALA LUMPUR – Three business owners were charged at the sessions court here today for submitting false documents to claim hiring incentives under the PenjanaKerjaya 2.0 programme totalling to RM123,100.
All three business owners were charged in separate courtrooms today and claimed trial to their respective charges.
They were charged in front of sessions court judges Azura Alwi, Rozina Ayob and Suzana Hussin respectively.
On the first accused, Isa Legacy Sdn Bhd owner, Isa Mohd Ismail, was charged with one count of allegedly submitting a false employee verification form dated June 29, 2021, via a third party to defraud RM51,000 from Socso.
According to the charge sheet cited by The Vibes, Isa had listed names of individuals in the documents who were not employees of his firm.
In the second case, Aida Hani Enterprise owner, Mazlina Ali, was charged with one count of allegedly submitting a false employee verification form March 9, 2021, where the names listed in the document were not an employee of her company.
She had also allegedly falsely claimed RM3,600 from Socso.
The third accused, Mikel Enterprise and Translimit Industries owner, Mohamad Mohamed Amin was charged with two counts of allegedly a false employee verification form, dated March 25 and May 12, 2021, via a third party to claim incentives totalling RM68,500 from Socso.
All three were charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and punishable under Section 24(2) of the same act, which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the false information or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Section 18 of the MACC Act details any person providing documents such as receipts or invoices that are false or contain false details with the intention to deceive the principle (institution).
The court had allowed bail of RM5,000 with one surety to Mazlina and Isa.
Mohamed, however, was allowed bail of RM12,000 with one surety.
All three accused are to report to the nearest MACC office once a month until the disposal of their cases.
Last year, Socso, in cooperation with MACC, had launched Op Hire, after surveillance and intelligence conducted since May 2021 found that certain employers had made false claims and misappropriated these funds. – The Vibes, January 11, 2023
