KUCHING: A stepmother was granted court bail totalling RM12,000 for five charges by Magistrate’s Courts for withdrawing RM50,000 from her stepdaughter’s bank account using an ATM card.
Arinie Ghani, 39, the owner of a restaurant in Satok, pleaded not guilty to five charges read separately before the Magistrate.
According to all the charges, she was accused of making five gradual withdrawals of RM10,000 each from the ATM, totalling RM50,000.
She committed the acts at a bank on Jalan Satok for five consecutive days between May 3 and May 7 this year.
Therefore, Arinie was charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for no less than six months and not exceeding five years, along with whipping and a fine.
However, Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan allowed the defendant to be released on court bail of RM6,000 with a local surety for the two charges she faced.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi set a bail of RM4,000 with a local surety for the other two charges.
For the remaining charge, Magistret Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali set bail at RM2,000 with a local surety.
The court scheduled a further mention of the case for September 12.
It is understood that the complainant is the defendant’s stepdaughter who reported the loss of money from her personal account to the police.
Furthermore, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from a bank showed the defendant using her ATM card to withdraw the money.
The defendant also admitted to withdrawing the money for personal use without the knowledge of the complainant, who is a student at a higher education institution.
It is also understood that the money was provided by the complainant’s father for her needs after her mother’s passing.
During the incident, it is understood that the complainant’s ATM card was kept by her father for depositing money, but the card was taken by the defendant.
The prosecution of the case was handled separately by three Prosecuting Officers, namely Inspector Merylene Lindan Andrew Mang, Inspector Nur Shafiqa Nyaie Ilin, and Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad.
