KUALA LUMPUR: A former construction and renovation company owner was sentenced to six months in prison by the Sessions Court here today after he pleaded guilty to transferring and concealing more than RM1.3 million belonging to a woman related to a job offer advertised on Facebook.
Judge Hamidah Mohamed Deril sentenced Azwan Samsudin, 43, who admitted to transferring RM1,367,530.77 belonging to Helen Tan Boon See, 63, into a bank account under his company name, AW Builders & Renovation Sdn Bhd.
The offence was committed at a premises in Sentul on April 19, and he was charged under Section 424 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine, or both.
Subsequently, Azwan and his father-in-law, Muhamad Dzulhasymi Ishak, 48, were each sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to the same offence involving RM146,090 belonging to Saw Teong Soon, 48.
They had transferred the money into the same bank account at 11.18 am on Jan 14 and were charged under the same Act and section.
Hamidah ordered both Azwan’s prison sentences to run concurrently from the date of arrest on June 28, while Muhamad Dzulhasymi was also ordered to begin his prison sentence on the same date.
The case was handled by deputy public prosecutor Akmalzatul Mohamed Nawi, while both accused were unrepresented.
In a separate Sessions Court, Judge Azrul Darus sentenced Muhamad Dzulhasymi to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to a similar offence involving RM757,850 belonging to the same victim (Helen) on April 24 at a premises in Sentul.
Azrul ordered the sentence to begin immediately. Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Amir Haniff Ahijman appeared for the prosecution.
According to the facts of the case, the victim had come across the job offer on the Facebook page of ‘pulseplacex’.
She then opened an account on a website, where her task was to book hotels through ‘pulseplacex’, and was required to top up her account if the balance was insufficient.
She completed the first task and received a return on her money, which led her to believe the job was legitimate. Consequently, she made several transfers into the accused’s bank account between January and April.
She was later contacted by ‘pulseplacex,‘ informing her that her money could not be returned because the authorities were investigating them. They also demanded more than RM2 million from the victim to avoid being arrested.
Both the accused were later apprehended and they could not explain the transfers into Azwan’s company bank account.
