SHAH ALAM: The Sessions Court has sentenced two British men to six months imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to charges of cheating a Scot in an online investment scam.
Judge Rozilah Salleh also imposed RM180,000 fine in default of 22 months’ imprisonment on Andrew Mark Peters, 55, while Darren Anthony McNicholas, 51, was fined RM140,000 in default of 16 months’ imprisonment.
Peters faced two charges of being the mastermind in the scam by deceiving the Scottish man, who was promised a high return on investment within a short term by buying stocks in two non-existing companies. He faces up to five years’ imprisonment or fine or both, upon conviction.
McNicholas was accused of two counts of cheating the same person in the same scam. They committed the offence at a unit in a building at Petaling Jaya between May 21 and June 27, 2019.
According to the statement of facts, they instructed David Henshaw, an employee of their company, on May 21, 2019 to contact the victim and promote a purported investment into a company, Novocure Limited.
The victim then transferred US$5,672.41 (RM25,525.85) to the men to purchase 125 shares in the company.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Peters and McNicholas, urged the court to impose a lenient sentence. He said Peters, who has special needs, requires medical care while McNicholas has a Malaysian wife and child.
“Both of them gave their full cooperation to the MACC. Their guilty plea has saved the court’s time,” said Rafique.
