‘Datuk Kabi’ gets jail, fine for cheating

KUALA LUMPUR: A businessman was jailed three years and fined RM10,000 for cheating a man out of his Mercedes-Benz car worth RM85,000 at a magistrate’s court yesterday.

Magistrate Rahni Kartini Abd Rahim imposed the fine in default five months’ jail on C. Kamaleshwaran, 37, better known as “Datuk Kabi”, after finding him guilty of the charge.

Kamaleshwaran had claimed trial to cheating Nor Azman Saat, 50, in a deal involving the sale of a Mercedes-Benz E200K with the registration number JMN880 by paying him (Nor Azman) using a bank cheque amounting to RM85,000, which could not be cashed and induced Nor Azman to hand over the car.

The accused is said to have changed the ownership of the car without the knowledge of Nor Azman.

In mitigation, lawyer Thiru Kumar said his client, who is married with three children, aged five, four and three, also needed to support his aged mother and that his spouse is a housewife.

He applied for the court to release the accused under a good behaviour bond. He said about 300 employees work under the accused and that the accused suffers from diabetes.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Zikri Jaafar said the complainant sold his car in order to use the money for house renovation but could not do so and had to bear the losses.

He urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence to serve as a lesson to the accused.

After the delivery of the sentence, lawyer Jeremy Vinesh Anthony applied for a stay of the execution pending an appeal at the higher court.

The magistrate allowed the application and increased the bail amount from RM3,000 to RM8,000 in one surety.