KUALA LUMPUR: A company director pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to submitting false documents to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for incentives under the Penjana Kerjaya programme.
S. Ratah, 54, the owner of Star Skill Sdn Bhd, was charged yesterday with submitting employee verification forms with false information in the company’s name on May 3 and 6, 2021, in order to claim RM1,194,440 in incentives to two separate Socso employees.
She was accused of deceiving Socso as 12 of the individuals listed in the forms were not employees of the company.
The offence was allegedly committed at Wisma Perkeso, Jalan Tun Razak, in Kampung Baru here in May 2021.
She was charged with making false claims, and if convicted, the offence carries a 20-year jail sentence, a fine of not less than five times the value of the claims or RM10,000, whichever is higher, reported Bernama.
MACC deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry proposed bail of RM50,000 with the additional condition that the accused surrender her passport to the court and report to the nearest MACC office every month until the disposal of the case.
In mitigation, lawyer Tarlochan Singh Dhaliwal requested bail of between RM15,000 and RM20,000 on the grounds that his client did not have a fixed income as her company had gone bankrupt and she had health problems that required follow-up treatment.
Judge Suzana Hussin set bail at RM45,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to surrender her passport to the court and report to the nearest MACC office once a month.