Man ordered to enter defence in CBT case

KOTA KINABALU: A man was ordered to enter his defence on a charge of committing criminal breach of trust involving RM8,347 of a company’s sales proceeds.

Sessions Court judge Azreena Aziz made the order even though in the absence of the accused, John Ebiet Bachee, 31, yesterday.

She ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the accused.

John, who was an employee at Syarikat Smart Borneo (M) Sdn Bhd, was alleged to have embezzled the company’s sales proceeds that was entrusted to him for his own use.

The alleged offence took place at the company in Jalan Bundusan, Penampang between February 11 and 20, 2016.

He was charged under Section 408 of the Penal Code, which carries, a jail term of up to 14 years and whipping and also liable to a fine, upon conviction

John was not present during the course of his trial on February 28 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

However, the court proceeded with the trial and made the ruling in the absence of the accused pursuant to Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The provision which was implemented in March 2017, allowed courts to proceed or continue with trial and pronounce judgement in the absence of the accused.

The court fixed July 9 this year for a final review of his arrest warrant.

In an unrelated case, 48 foreigners including five women, aged between 21 and 50, were jailed between four and five months for entering the state illegally.

The judge imposed the sentence on the foreigners after they pleaded guilty to entering the state without valid documentation.

Some of the men were also ordered to be whipped once while others were spared due to their age and gender.

All of the foreigners will be referred to the immigration department for their bio-metrics data to be recorded before deportation.