SIBU: A 23-year-old Johorean was indicted in the Magistrate’s Court here for possession of RM30,000, which was obtained illegally.
In meting out the sentence today, magistrate Mohd Syukri Mokhtar fined Jonathan Wee Swee Soon from Batu Pahat, Johor, RM500, in default seven days’ imprisonment, after he admitted to committing the offence.
According to the charge sheet, the accused was found in possession of RM30,000, which was unlawfully obtained at a banking institution’s automated teller machine (ATM) at between 10.36am and 11.07am last Nov 8.
The offence framed under Section 37 (1) of the Minor Offence Ordinance Sarawak provides for imprisonment of up to three months and a fine of RM500.
Prosecutor Insp Badrul Iskandar Selamat told the court that last Nov 4 at around 8am, at a house in Brooke Drive here, the complainant, 58, received a call and also WhatsApp messages from an Insp Ling and a Sgt Chiew.
They told the complainant that based on their investigations, he was found to be involved in money laundering.
The complainant was given four bank account numbers to transfer money to facilitate investigation.
Between Nov 8 and 12, the complainant made 14 payments to the accounts, amounting to RM96,400.
The complainant realised that he had been deceived after the ‘police officers’ could no longer be contacted. He then lodged a report.
Insp Badrul stated that as a result of investigation, the bank had identified the accused to be the owner of one of the bank accounts.
The bank account statement also verified that there were transactions made by the complainant into the accused’s account in four transactions, amounting to RM30,000.
The accused paid the fine.
