Teacher charged with CBT, falsifying documents

IPOH: A teacher was charged at the Sessions Court here yesterday with 48 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and falsifying documents involving a disbursement of financial aid for poor students, amounting to RM11,550, five years ago.

Mohamad Romzi Zahari, 46, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before judge S. Indra Nehru.

He was charged with committing the offences between July and September 2013 in his capacity as the senior assistant of student affairs at Sekolah Kebangsaan Rancangan Penempatan Semula Kemar, Gerik. He was entrusted with RM349,650 in aid allocation for the schools involved.

Mohamad Romzi was charged with 24 counts of CBT by dishonestly taking between RM400 and RM600 that was supposed to be given to 24 students, involving a total of RM11,550.

The charges were made under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and whipping, and is liable to a fine, if found guilty.

The remaining 24 counts were for falsifying the documents, “Borang Akuan Penerimaan Bantuan Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin 2013”, which were made under the names of the affected students.

The charges on the falsifying of documents were made under Section 468 of the Penal Code, which provides for an imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine, if found guilty.

The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Nurul Wahida Jalaluddin, offered bail at RM1,000 on each count.

However, Mohamad Romzi’s lawyer, Khairul Anuar Musa, requested for a lower bail, saying that his client, who has a wife and four children to support, earned RM5,000 a month.

The court set bail at RM24,000 in one surety and fixed Oct 4 for mention.