Pontian school administrator hit with 40 charges over RM100k in false claims
JOHOR BARU: A secondary school senior administrative officer pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to 20 charges of submitting false claims amounting to over RM100,000 for learning materials that were never delivered.
The 42-year-old Pontian school administrator, Mohd Khairul Md Khalid, was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
He also claimed trial to 20 alternative counts of using forged documents under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465 with a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.
He was charged with allegedly using false invoices ranging between RM1,170 and RM7,920 to deceive his principal into approving payments amounting to RM101,218.28.
No actual delivery of goods took place.
The offences were alleged to have occurred between May 1, 2021 and May 1, 2022.
If convicted, Khairul faces up to 20 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Deputy public prosecutor Rais Adha Ramli urged the court to impose RM30,000 bail in total, citing the gravity of the offences.
However, defence lawyer Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud pleaded for leniency, saying his client's income had been frozen since his arrest in 2023, and that he had been served with a bankruptcy notice.
"He supports a wife, two children, and an elderly mother-in-law. The financial pressure is already immense," said the lawyer.
The court fixed bail at RM14,000 with one surety.
Khairul was also ordered to report to the MACC office monthly.
Mention has been fixed for June 23.
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