
Discharge for trio in gold mine case
Published on: Friday, April 25, 2025
Published on: Fri, Apr 25, 2025
By: Cynthia D Baga Text Size: Fung (front, left)), his son Tek Yong, daughter Choon Fung together with their counsel Zahir leaving the court after the proceedings. Kota Kinabalu: A father and his two children were given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) from the charges of cheating the Sabah Government by submitting fake documents related to the sale of gold ingots from the mining of precious mineral in Bukit Mantri, Tawau, which caused a loss of more than RM1.3 million to the State Government. Sessions Court Judge Jason Juga made the order for Datuk Lo Fui Ming, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd, his son, Lo Teck Yong, former Director of the same company, and his daughter, Lo Choon Fung, Director of Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd, on Thursday. The court gave DNAA to the trio following an application by the prosecution who asked for the DNAA. Earlier, the prosecution informed the court that there was a new development pertaining to the case which was supposedly for mention to know the outcome of the representation letter. The prosecution stated that the application was subject to future developments adding that, should the case progress differently than expected, the prosecution would proceed with the charges. Defence counsel Zahir Shah confirmed that he had been informed of the prosecution's application earlier in the day. Zahir has no objection to the application and requested the passports and bail amounts be returned to the trio. Fu Ming, 69, and Teck Yong, 43, were accused of cheating the Sabah Government, namely the Department of Lands and Surveys by not reporting the quantity of gold bars and illegally selling them to a private company while knowingly causing financial losses to the state. The charges stated that they allegedly submitted the fake documents by cheating the State Government through the Land and Surveys Department for declaring incomplete items sold in their gold mining project. The offence allegedly committed between 2019 and 2023 at the Land and Surveys Department office, here. Fui Ming faces 24 charges under Section 418 of the Penal Code for cheating, with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue a person whose interest the offender is bound to protect. Meanwhile, Teck Yong faces 24 charges under Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting the crime which carries a jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or both upon conviction. Fung Ming and Choon Fung were jointly charged with four counts of using forged documents as genuine. The charges stated that both of them, had allegedly used four forged documents as genuine, namely letters under the name Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd titled 'Unauthorised Occupation Of Southsea Gold Lease Land For Mining Operations', dated March 3, 2020, Dec 10, 2020, Oct 13, 2021, and Jan 3, 2022, in which they had reason to believe that all four documents were fake. Counsel Norbert Yapp appeared in court as watching brief counsel for the Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Sabah pushes for fairer punishments: Proposed changes to criminal laws
Published on: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jun 11, 2025 By: Sherell Jeffrey Text Size: Those from the CLRC posing in a photo with Sabah stakeholders. Kota Kinabalu: Legal experts and civil society representatives in Sabah are pushing for fairer punishments and real action on proposed changes to Malaysia's criminal laws, as the country undertakes its biggest review of crime-related legislation in decades. These suggestions were expressed during a townhall session here, Monday, hosted by the Criminal Law Reform Committee (CLRC) as part of its nationwide consultation tour which kicked off in the peninsula on May 21. Advertisement Chaired by former Federal Court Judge Tan Sri Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, the townhall here aimed to gather input from Sabah stakeholders on proposed reforms to three important pieces of legislation, namely the Penal Code (Act 574), Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593) and Evidence Act (Act 56). 'We have not finalised anything. For now, we are just seeking feedback from everyone,' Harmindar told the townhall session. 'From then on, the committee, the researchers and so on will look into all the proposals and see which ones we can implement immediately and those that we can implement maybe in the longer term,' he said, pointing out that the committee remains in the consultation phase. The consultation process includes townhall sessions across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and upcoming sessions in Sarawak, including online feedback forms. The public consultation period has been extended from May 31 to June 15 to accommodate wider participation. Among those present at the townhall session here were Sabah Law Society Immediate Past President Datuk Roger Chin who pointed out the importance of inclusive consultation in the law-making process. 'A lot of these laws, a lot of times if they do not consult stakeholders, they do not take into account their views, then the laws will be not good,' Roger told Daily Express when met after the session. 'This is the only way that we can advance law because law cannot be static. It must be amended all the time to suit the changing times,' he said. The reform initiative, spearheaded by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring Malaysia's legal framework remains relevant and effective in addressing modern challenges. While Sabah stakeholders welcomed the consultation process, several expressed cautious optimism about whether their feedback would translate into actual legislative changes. 'I hope the feedbacks are actually incorporated. I think a lot of times, for whatever policy reasons or reasons unknown, even worse, laws are not changed when they should be,' Roger said, citing concerns about prison overcrowding due to inflexible sentencing for minor drug offenses. Social activist cum former journalist Dr Kanul Gindol shared this sentiment while expressing confidence in the committee's leadership. 'I hope the Government will really look into all these loopholes, grievances and comments from the stakeholders, especially from our learned lawyers who are very involved in carrying out fair involvement or solutions of any cases involving criminal laws,' he said. Justice for Sisters representative Megan Stephen pointed out the need for gender-neutral language in criminal laws. 'In all the provision or law, amendment should be done to make it a more gender-neutral language. For example, rape cases. The word 'woman' should be changed to 'person' because anyone can be raped, not just women,' said Megan. 'What I hope as well is to protect stateless and undocumented people, not just for Malaysians, but underprivileged people as well. 'I have a 50-50 confidence level due to concerns about double standards in the justice system where if you have more privilege, more money, then certain people that are underprivileged, they cannot be protected,' said Megan, expressing measured expectations about its implementation. Sabah Prisons' Board of Visiting Justices Chairperson Datuk Katherine Lee advocates for Community Service Orders (CSO) as alternatives to imprisonment for lesser crimes. 'I would like to see more CSO implemented, especially for the lesser crimes,' she said, expressing concern over the current system where mothers who steal milk or food for their baby are sentenced to three months jail or six months' jail. 'It does not make sense to me. Nobody's looking after the babies,' she said. She also expressed concerns about the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), saying that wealthy defendants should not be able to simply negotiate settlements for crimes. Instead, she proposed that offenders still be charged properly, but they can add on to the sentence to contribute to society as a contribution to help the needy. She would also like to see Restorative Justice (RJ) which focuses on repairing harm caused by crime involving the victims and offenders and even families in the resolution process. 'This approach addresses the harm caused by crime rather than solely focusing on punishment, potentially facilitating reconciliation between all parties involved. 'The implementation would require comprehensive training for stakeholders including police officers, social workers and judges, as well as legislative amendments to the Child Act 2001, Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to formally recognise and support RJ practices,' she said. For the record, this is Malaysia's first comprehensive attempt at criminal law reform through a dedicated committee structure. The CLRC, supported by an Ad Hoc Committee comprising experts in law, enforcement, technology and civil society, has been tasked with completing its review within 18 months in phases. The reform initiative reflects the Madani Government's commitment to ensuring Malaysia's criminal justice system becomes more responsive, fair and effective while maintaining the rule of law and protecting individual rights. The success of these reforms will largely depend on how effectively the Government incorporates the diverse voices and concerns raised during these consultation sessions into concrete legislative action. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia


New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Police arrest trio with drugs, explosive device after high-speed chase
KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested three men and seized various drugs along with a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) following a high-speed car chase in Seri Kembangan early this morning. Serdang district police chief, Assistant Commissioner Muhamad Farid Ahmad said the incident occurred at about 3.30am during a routine snap check by a patrol team from the Serdang district police headquarters along Jalan Putra Permai, heading from Sierra 16 towards Seri Kembangan. "Officers flagged down a grey Honda Civic with three men inside, but the vehicle sped off, prompting a chase that ended when it crashed into a road divider and overturned at KM5.1 of the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway. "All three suspects, aged between 40 and 51, sustained injuries and were taken to Serdang Hospital for treatment," he said in a statement. Checks revealed that two of the suspects have a combined total of 43 prior criminal and drug-related records, and one of them is wanted under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. A search of the vehicle uncovered multiple substances believed to be drugs, including 77.10g of cocaine, 49.28g of cannabis, 54.07g of ecstasy powder (MDMA), 30.18g of ketamine, 3.20g of yaba pills, 3.40g of ecstasy pills, and 0.98g of Erimin 5 pills. "Additionally, officers discovered a grey object wrapped in transparent plastic containing metal components and screws, along with a roll of wire and a motorcycle battery, believed to be an IED." Muhamad Farid said the case is being investigated under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharging their duties, which carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both, upon conviction. The suspects have been handed over to the Kajang district police headquarters for further investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and Section 3 of the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958. These offences carry the mandatory death penalty or, if not imposed, life imprisonment and not fewer than 15 strokes of the cane. Muhamad Farid urged the public to share any information related to criminal or drug activities by contacting their operations room at 03-8074 2222 or by visiting the nearest police station.


The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Housewife loses over RM500,000 to investment scam
GEORGE TOWN: A housewife lost RM521,450 after falling victim to a fraudulent investment scheme carried out face-to-face in Seberang Perai Utara (SPU), near here, recently. Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said the Commercial Crime Investigation Division from the SPU Police Headquarters received a report from the 57-year-old woman yesterday, with investigations underway. 'Based on investigations, the victim was introduced by her neighbour to the scheme, which promised high returns in a short period in 2022, before introducing the victim to another woman who posed as a marketing officer,' he said in a statement today, adding that the woman explained to the victim how the investment worked. He said the victim then joined the investment and made 51 cash transactions into five different bank accounts from March 4, 2022 to Jan 22, 2024 totalling RM521,450, before realising she had been scammed after the suspect kept giving excuses whenever she wanted to withdraw her profits. Hamzah said some of the excuses given were that the investments had not reached maturity dates and that there was no need to worry because her capital was safely stored in Bank Negara. He said the victim was also told to make various additional payments, such as payments to Bank Negara and legal fees to facilitate getting her capital and profits. 'Investigations are ongoing, including tracing those involved in the scam, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating,' he added.