Unlawful possession of RM420 in bank account lands youth with RM1,500 fine

KUCHING: A local youth was fined a total of RM1,500, in default three weeks in jail, at the Magistrates’ Court here yesterday after he plead guilty to three charges of unlawful possession of RM420 in his personal bank account.

All three charges were framed under Section 37(1) of the Sarawak Minor Offences Ordinance 1958.

Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali set a fine of RM500 or one week in jail for each charge against the accused, Leong Kah Meng, 25, from Kuala Lumpur.

According to the charge, the accused also failed to explain from where he had obtained the RM420 that was in his bank account.

The accused was arrested by police after a 44-year-old woman lodged a police report claiming that she was duped after applying for a loan of RM5,000 that was advertised on Facebook.

She was told to make several payments to a loan company to clear her name in order to apply for the loan.

The victim then deposited RM100 on May 17, and made two deposits of RM160 each on May 19 to the accused’s bank account in a bank at Jalan Tun Jugah.

After depositing the RM420 in the accused’s bank account, the victim was again told to deposit RM600 to settle the loan.

That was when she realised that she had fallen victim to a bogus loan scheme which led to the police report.

Investigations by police revealed that the accused had given his bank account number to his friend named ‘Ah Kok’ who did not have a bank account.

Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad prosecuted in the case while the accused was not represented by counsel.