Husband and wife charged for false claims worth RM3.6mil
The accused, Anita Mohamed, 54, and Ang Ka Fat @ Kenny, 57, pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court Judge Jason Juga on Thursday (Aug 14).
They were slapped with a total of three charges each for the false claims that were submitted to the Industrial Development and Research Department (DIDR) in 2022 and 2023.
Anita and Ang face one joint charge and each of them faces two separate charges.
The court set Sept 23 for pre-trial mention of the case and allowed a total bail of RM40,000 with one surety on the three charges for each of the accused.
The court also imposed additional conditions that included reporting to the MACC office every two months, surrendering their passports to the court and cautioned against interfering with prosecution witnesses until the case ends.
MACC prosecuting officer Dzulkarnain Rousan Hasbi led the prosecution, while both the accused were represented by lawyer Azhier Farhan Arisin.
Anita and Ang were each charged jointly for abetting the manager of a company to submit a set of documents dated Nov 11, 2022, along with 12 supporting Delivery Order documents containing false claim details that were not carried out.
The claims were in relation to MeSTI and Halal certification services in the food industry for entrepreneurs under the Sabah SME Assistance Program (BAIKS) 2022, including renovation works, worth RM500,000.
The documents were allegedly submitted to an administrative assistant with the intention of deceiving the DIDR on Nov 11, 2022.
For the second charge, Anita and Ang were each charged with committing the same offence by submitting a set of documents on Oct 10, 2023, together with 45 supporting Delivery Order documents containing false claim details for MeSTI, My Food Tag and Halal certification services the Sabah SME Assistance Programme (BAIKS) 2023, that included RM2.7mil renovation work when it not carrried out.
The offence was committed on Nov 2, 2023.
Both charges were under Section 28(1)(c) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, read with Section 18 of the same act, and are punishable under Section 24(2) of the said act.
The section provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the false details or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
For the third charge, the couple was accused of, with common intent, submitting a set of invoice documents from another company dated Nov 7 2023, along with 13 supporting Delivery Order documents containing false details.
The details involved the supply of 11 units of 100-litre Retort Machines, two units of 150-litre Retort Machines, registration and approval from the Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH), hydrostatic testing by DOSH, and registration of premises for 13 units, worth RM414,400, when the supply was not carried out.
The documents were also submitted to the same administrative assistant on 10 November 2023 at the same department.
The couple was charged under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, which is punishable under Section 24(2) of the same act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
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