Saturday February 16, 2013

Ex-manager freed of using forged documents

KUALA LUMPUR: A former senior manager of Majuikan Sdn Bhd, who was charged with using forged documents in relation to a cheating case involving more than RM40mil, has been acquitted and discharged.

Sessions Judge Rosenani Abd Rahman acquitted Mohd Khairuddin Abu Bakar, 56, after ruling the defence had succeeded in raising reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

Mohd Khairuddin was jointly charged with a former director of Malaysian Sea Best Sdn Bhd, Gazali Rashid, 52, who has since died, with passing off as genuine three security documents which they knew were forged.

Gazali was believed to have died of a stroke, just three days before the trial began.

They were accused of committing the offence at Jalan 4/146, Metro Centre, Bandar Tasik Selatan, in Cheras, between Feb 14 and March 22, 2006.

Mohd Khairuddin, who was stoic while the judgement was read out, hugged his wife when he was led out of the dock.

He declined to speak to reporters.

On May 31 last year, in the same trial, Judge Rosenani acquitted Mohd Khairuddin of two counts of cheating HSBC Bank USA vice-president Stephen Ferrera.

She ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case in the cheating charges, but ordered Mohd Khairuddin to enter his defence for the forged document charge.

Mohd Khairuddin was alleged to have dishonestly induced Ferrera to believe that Majuikan had agreed to be the guarantor for a €10mil (RM40mil) loan to Malaysian Sea Best.

The act had dishonestly prompted the bank to disburse the money to Malaysian Sea Best.

In the course of the trial which started on May 9, 2011, the prosecution had presented 25 witnesses while the defence called for four witnesses.

The prosecution was led by DPP C. Vignesh Kumar, while lawyers Datuk Dr Mohd Radzuan Ibrahim and Shamsul Sulaiman represented Mohd Khairuddin.

News

Saturday February 16, 2013

Ex-manager freed of using forged documents