TAIPING: A licensed moneylending company director was charged in the Sessions Court here today with five counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving company funds amounting to RM551,130 between 2020 and 2024.
Datuk Lee Hyen Sip @ Simon, 52, pleaded not guilty to all five charges before Judge Nabisha Ibrahim.
According to the charges, between November 2020 and September 2024, the accused, as a director of Pasti Tunai Jaya Sdn Bhd entrusted with control over the company’s funds, allegedly committed CBT by transferring over RM550,000 from the company’s account via company cheques into various bank accounts, including his own.
The offences were allegedly committed at Maybank’s Kamunting branch in the Larut, Matang and Selama district on Nov 12, 2020; March 7 and Aug 26, 2022; Sept 27, 2023; and Sept 24, 2024.
All five charges were filed under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of not less than two years and up to 20 years, caning, and a possible fine upon conviction.
For each original charge, the accused also faced alternative charges under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which alleges the dishonest misappropriation of funds totalling over RM550,000 on the same dates and locations.
Section 403 provides for imprisonment of not less than six months and not more than five years, caning, and a mandatory fine upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Fahmi Kamaluddin proposed bail of RM10,000 for each charge with one surety, while defence counsels Rodzim Zaimy Abdul Hamid and Jeyakumar Palakrishnar did not object. Lawyer Privesh Paul Singh appeared as the complainant’s observer.
The judge set bail at RM10,000 for each charge with one surety and fixed Feb 17 for case mention and document submission.
On Jan 21, the media reported that a man carrying the title ‘Datuk’ had been remanded at the Magistrate’s Court here for alleged CBT last year.
Acting Perak police chief DCP Zulkafli Sariaat had confirmed that the suspect was a director of a licensed moneylending company.