Court jails three in organised crime case linked to RM24mil bank withdrawals

New Straits Times

2 days ago

KOTA KINABALU: Three out of 10 individuals charged in connection with an organised crime group linked to the RM24.2 million in illegal bank withdrawals were sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the High Court here today.
The accused are Subramaniam Thangavelu, 56, a teacher; Sugumaran K. Ponniah, 56, self-employed; and Hasran Magin, 46, a fisherman.
All three pleaded guilty before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol to an alternative charge under Section 130W of the Penal Code for assisting the organised criminal group. The Section provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years upon conviction.
The alternative charge was offered by the prosecution following the acceptance of representation letters from all the accused.
They separately admitted to having assisted an organised crime group involved in fraudulent activities to obtain material benefits for the group, led by Josepin J. Langkan, between April and July 2024, at the MBSB Bank branch in the city.
According to the case facts, a police report was lodged on June 27 regarding an organised crime group involved in the forgery of MyKad, fraud, and criminal breach of trust.
Following the report, all the accused were arrested at several locations on July 8, 2024.
Investigations revealed that the accused had assisted the group in committing criminal breach of trust by a clerk or servant using forged valuable security documents, namely fake MyKad, to obtain material benefits.
With their assistance, the group successfully withdrew large sums of money from several fixed deposit accounts at MBSB Bank in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, using the forged MyKad.
Investigations also found that the group, aided by the accused, had been involved in serious offences, including three cases in Manggatal and one in Tanjung Aru, involving fixed deposit withdrawals amounting to millions of ringgit. These cases are being investigated under, among others, Section 408 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 120B of the same Code.
Subramaniam was represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh and Prem Elmer Ganasan, while Sugumaran and Hasran were represented by Dominic Chew and Azhier Farhan Arisin, respectively.
Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Nazran Mohd Sham, Shafiq Hasim, Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul and Yazid Mustaqin Roslan conducted the prosecution.
Earlier, all the accused, through their respective counsel, requested leniency on the grounds that they were first-time offenders and their involvement was minimal, for example, Hasran, who only pushed an imposter in a wheelchair into the bank.
The prosecution, however, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing public interest and the seriousness of the offences. They argued that a guilty plea should not be the main consideration and highlighted that this was the first case of its kind involving a financial institution investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
Meanwhile, the court fixed July 18 for further mention of the case involving the remaining seven individuals who have maintained their not guilty pleas.
They are Josepin J. Langkan, 38; Nasir Abdul Rasid, 60; Irene Chin Nyuk Thien, 38; Christina @ Caroline Pianus Etip, 53; Vireonis Jonok, 35; Leong Hin Ping, 62; and Mazlani Jenuary, 53.
They face the original charge under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for being members of an organised criminal group, allegedly committed during the same period and at the same location.
Earlier, Nasir initially pleaded guilty to an alternative charge but disputed the facts of the case as read out in court, resulting in his plea being rejected.
For the record, all 10 accused persons claimed trial on Nov 7, 2024.