TAWAU – Five men and a woman are on remand for three days from today for allegedly making false declarations on the sale of gold that was mined by two companies from their mining operations in Bukit Mantri here.
The remand order was issued by magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu following an application by prosecuting officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Asmawi Kulup Lam.
The suspects, aged between 42 and 67, including a man with the title “datuk”, were arrested at the MACC Office late yesterday for investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
It is understood that the suspects, including the chief executive officer and director of a company, had allegedly tried to deceive the Sabah government by providing statements on the sale of the gold with false details.
They had apparently avoided paying royalties to the state government from the mining operations.
It is believed that 100kg of gold worth RM25 million that was mined and should have contributed RM1.25 million in royalty payment to the government from 2020 to 2022 was not reported by the companies concerned.
The two companies are believed to have conspired to commit the crime. – Bernama, May 18, 2023
