Two charged with misuse of Thai rice worth RM1.1m

BUTTERWORTH: Two Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Syarikat Padi Beras Nasional Berhad) employees and another man were charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) at the Sessions Court here today.
Mohd Khairie Mohd Noor, 32, Mohamad Taufik Akman, 26, and C. Ramanathan, 56, claimed trial before Sessions Court Judge Norhayati Mohamad Yunus.
Mohd Khairie and Mohamad Taufik, both employed by Padiberas, were accused of misusing a total of 515,050.56kg of Thai rice amounting to RM1,107,358.70 for their own use from Aug 2, 2016, until March 9 this year.
Both were alleged to have committed the offence at the office in Mukim 1m Solok Perusahaan 4, Kawasan Perindustrian Perai.
The offence comes under Section 408 of the Penal Code, to be read with Section 34 of the same Code, for CBT and those convicted can be punished with a maximum 14 years in prison, with whipping and liable to a fine.
Ramanathan meanwhile was charged with abetting Mohd Khairei, the warehouse supervisor, and Mohamad Taufik, the store clerk, to misuse the assets of the company for his or their usage at the same date, time and place.
The offence falls under section 408 of the Penal Code and is to be read with Section 109 of the same Code for abetment.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Noor Azrul Abdul Rahaman prosecuted while Ahmad Rizal Abd Hamid defended Mohd Khairie, Chong Seng Ming represented Mohamad Taufik but Ramanathan was not represented.
Noor Azrul asked the court to grant bail at RM500,000 in one surety for each accused but Ahmad Rizal and Chong said their clients have given their full cooperation to the police.
Norhayati then set bail at RM50,000 in one surety each and fixed Aug 21 for mention.