KOTA KINABALU: A 64-year-old man from Kedah who claimed to be a ‘Dato Seri’ was charged at the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday with cheating an Indonesian woman of RM580 over an SR card.
Saad Ani, who is believed to be the head of a Kedah-based manpower resources company, pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie to the charge under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years and whipping and also liable to a fine upon conviction.
The charge tendered by the prosecuting officer Inspector Suzie @ Stephanie Kupit accuses Saad of cheating one Dina Kairupan by making her believe that he could get her the SR card from his company, Syarikat SR Manpower Resources Sdn Bhd, and inducing her to hand over RM580 to him.
It is learnt that SR cards are meant for illegal foreign workers and they have to register with the company to get them.
The court fixed April 3 for case management and released the accused on RM5,000 bail with two local sureties pending disposal of the case.
Meanwhile, outside the courtroom, a man clad in a white long sleeved shirt, harassed and threatened court reporters, saying he would sue the media if the story of the case was published.
The man claimed he had rights and the reporter would face his lawyer if the story about the ‘Dato’ was written.
The man stood guard in front of the courtroom door to prevent reporters from taking pictures of the accused.
He held up his phone, claiming that he was taking pictures of each of the reporters and said: “Kita jumpa di mahkamah” (We will meet in court).
The man even ordered some men to do the same thing (taking picture of the reporters).