KOTA KINABALU: Ten people were charged for involvement in a group linked to missing funds from several bank accounts totalling RM24.2mil this year.
They are Subramaniam Thangavelu, 56, teacher; Josepin J. Langkan, 38, contractor; Nasir Abdul Rasid, 60, pensioner; Irene Chin Nyuk Thien, 38, bank branch manager; Christina @ Caroline Pianus Etip, 53, bank branch manager; Sugumaran K. Ponniah, 56, self-employed; Vireonis Jonok, 35, unemployed; Leong Hin Ping, 62, pensioner; Hasran Magin, 46, fisherman; and Mazlani Jenuary, 53, unemployed.
The accused were charged before Sessions Court judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan under Section 130V (1) of the Penal Code here yesterday.
All of the accused, with the exception of Hasran, appeared in court and acknowledged understanding the charge.
No plea was taken pending the next mention date, set for Sept 13.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Lina Hanini Ismail offered no bail and asked for a mention date two months from yesterday.
However, lawyers for the accused pleaded for an earlier mention date, stating that the two-month wait was too long for their clients.
In response, the prosecution said two months was reasonable as it needed time to gather more evidence.
Amir inquired about any security concerns, to which the DPP responded positively, citing the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 as the basis for the charge.
In hot water: Three of the 10 suspects arriving at the Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu.
The 10 are accused of being members of an organised crime group, allegedly led by Josepin, that committed serious crimes for material gain at a bank branch here between April 26 and July 10 this year.
Subramaniam was represented by Datuk Ram Singh, while Josepin and Vireonis were represented by lawyers Hairul V. Othman and Luke Ressa Balang.
Sugumaran, Nasir and Leong were defended by lawyers Dominic Chew and Ariel Dasan, while Chin was represented by lawyers Mohd Al Hafidz Mohd Lokman and Luqman Syazwan Zabidi.
Christina was represented by lawyer Arthur Borine, and Mazlani was represented by lawyer Datuk Marzuki Spawi.
At a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said police detained 14 suspects in relation to the case under Section 4(5) of Sosma, marking the first time the Act was used to combat commercial crime.
Investigators used Sosma, according to Comm Ramli, after they found that the syndicate’s activities included elements of organised crime and resulted in losses of millions of ringgit.
“This investigation began on June 28 and ended on July 22.
“More than 50 police officers were involved in the investigation, and worked with the Attorney General’s Chambers, leading to the prosecution of the suspects,” he said.
Comm Ramli added that the DPP had on Monday given instructions to charge nine suspects under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code (for being a member of an organised crime group) and one other under the National Registration Regulations 1990.
He had said police believe the suspects made a detailed plan to produce fake MyKad for use in banking matters, to the extent of manipulating the bank’s fingerprint scanner.
Comm Ramli had earlier said the suspects withdrew victims’ money via bank counter transactions after syndicate members on the inside identified high-value account holders.
