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.
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