KOTA KINABALU: A director of a Kuala Lumpur-based company, who was charged with fraudulently receiving deposits amounting to RM3.88 million from the public, will be sentenced at the Sessions Court here today.
Datuk Noor Ismahanum Mohd Ismail, 34, who was brought before judge Azreena Aziz, decided to change her plea of not guilty to one of guilty to all the charges against her yesterday when she was supposed to stand trial.
Noor Ismahanum, the director of Worldwide Far East Sdn Bhd, was charged together with her younger brother Mohamad Ismahanif, 25, and the company’s Kota Kinabalu branch manager Yong Thain Vun, 25, for committing the offence.
However, Mohamad Ismahanif and Yong still maintained their pleas of not guilty to the charges framed against them.
In the first case, the company with registration number 927191-P, was charged with receiving deposits without a license under Section 6 (4) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 through a gold investment scheme initiated between December 28, 2010 and April 23, 2012 at Wisma Fook Loi, Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu
The offence is framed under Section 25 (1) and punishable under Section 103 (1) (a) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989, which carries a maximum fine of RM10,000,000 or a maximum of 10 years’ jail, or both, upon conviction.
In the second case, Noor Ismahanum faces another two similar charges of receiving deposits through the same scheme without license as a company director, between December 6, 2010 and December 28, 2010 at Marina Court, Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and between December 28, 2010 and April 23, 2012 at Wisma Fook Loi, Jalan Gaya, respectively.
In the third case, Yong was accused of abetting Noor Ismahanum in receiving the deposits at Wisma Fook Loi, between November 6, 2010 and April 23, 2012.
Noor Ismahanum and Mohamad Ismahanif have been charged at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur with 116 counts of similar charges involving a total of RM6.85 million.
However, all their cases were transferred to the Kota Kinabalu Court on March 27, this year for a consolidated trial.
Noor Ismahanum and the company were charged with using RM3,281,202.63 from their alleged illegal activities through the issuance of 57 cheques from the CIMB Bank accounts belonging to the company while Mohamad Ismahanif was charged with possession of a Honda Civic and funds totalling of RM295,883.48 through the alleged illegal activities.
They were alleged to have committed the offences framed under Subsection 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 at the CIMB Bank in Jalan Radin Tengah, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.
Noor Ismahanum is currently detained in custody after the same court revoked her bail while Ismahanif and Yong were on bail of RM50,000 in one local surety and their passports have also been deposited to the court.
Bank Negara Malaysia prosecuting officers Fahmi Abd Moin and Siti Nabila Huda appeared for the prosecution and counsel Zahir Shah defended Noor Ismahanum and Mohamad Ismahanif while counsel Chin Teck Ming represented Yong.