KUALA LUMPUR: Two female e-hailing drivers received fines of RM30,000 each from the Sessions Court today after admitting guilt to three counts of fraudulent NFC payment activities.
Judge Suhaila Haron imposed a fine of RM10,000 for each charge against Chong Yin Hong, 42, and Chong Li Shian, 39, with an alternative four-month imprisonment term for default.
Both defendants changed their plea to guilty during today’s mention and subsequently paid their fines in full.
According to jointly read charges, the women collaborated to conduct unauthorised access and fraudulent payments using counterfeit funds at multiple shopping malls in the capital between June 4 and 11.
They faced charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997, which permits maximum penalties of a RM150,000 fine, 10 years’ imprisonment, or both.
Case facts revealed that on June 10, a Maybank Fraud Investigation Division manager received numerous customer reports about suspicious transactions involving NFC payments linked to foreign credit cards.
The bank’s investigation discovered that both accused made payments by tapping their mobile phones on Maybank EDC terminals using the authorisation code “VIP111”, which caused the payment terminals to malfunction.
Further investigation showed that Yin Hong’s phone contained multiple applications used by both defendants to execute the fraudulent payments.
CCTV footage confirmed that the women made purchases at several shopping malls, with seized items matching those listed on transaction receipts.
Deputy public prosecutor Nursyuhada Husna Sulaiman urged the court to impose a commensurate sentence as a deterrent measure during earlier proceedings.
Defence counsel Muhammad Naqib Aiman Mohd Faizal requested a lighter fine in mitigation, citing his clients’ status as first-time offenders and their responsibility to support elderly parents. – Bernama
