MELAKA: A 46-year-old man pleaded guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here to three charges of using forged documents to obtain state honorific awards from Melaka.
The accused, Mohamad Nizam Abdul Ghani, entered his plea before magistrate Khairunnisak Hassni yesterday.
According to the charge sheet, the accused used falsified approval letters for the Darjah Pangkuan Seri Melaka (DPSM), which bestows the title of “Datuk”, to deceive three individuals into thinking he could secure the awards for them.
The offences were committed at a residence in Taman Paya Rumput Perdana here, at 11.06pm on Sept 21.
All the charges were framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, which is punishable under Section 468 of the same code, and carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ jail and a fine upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Hanis Aliah Ahmad Kamarulnajuib prosecuted while the accused was represented by lawyer Kent Tan Chow Teng.
The court granted bail of RM7,000 with one surety, and fixed Dec 4 for sentencing.
In a separate proceeding, Mohamad Nizam’s associate, Shahrizan Sahauddin, 45, claimed trial to a charge of allegedly forging documents involving the same individuals at the same time and place.
He was charged under Section 465 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Lawyer Helmi Hasan represented the accused.
The court set bail at RM4,000 with one surety, and fixed Dec 12 as the next mention date.