Teacher charged with CBT involving funds for poor students

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Mohamad Romzi (centre) pleads not guilty to the CBT charges. — Bernama photo

IPOH: A teacher was charged in the Sessions Court here yesterday with 48 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and falsifying of documents involving disbursement of financial aid payments for poor students, amounting to RM11,550, five years ago.

Mohamad Romzi Zahari, 46, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before judge S Indra Nehru.

He was charged with committing the offences in his capacity as the senior assistant of student affairs at Sekolah Kebangsaan Rancangan Penempatan Semula (RPS) Kemar, Gerik, and entrusted with RM349,650 in aid allocation for the schools involved.

Mohamad Romzi was charged with 24 counts of CBT by dishonestly taking between RM400 and RM600 of the money that was supposed to be given to 24 students, involving a total of RM11,550.

The charges were made under Section 409 0f the Penal Code, which provides an imprisonment for up to 10 years and whipping, and is liable to fine, if found guilty.

The remaining 24 counts were for falsifying the documents, “Borang Akuan Penerimaan Bantuan Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin 2013”, which were made under the names of the affected students.

All the offences were allegedly committed at the office of Sekolah Kebangsaan RPS Kemar, near Gerik, between July and September 2013. The charges on the falsifying of documents were made under Section 468 of the Penal Code, which provides an imprisonment for up to seven years and is liable to fine, if found guilty.

The prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Nurul Wahida Jalaluddin, offered bail at RM1,000 on each count.

However, Mohamad Romzi’s lawyer, Khairul Anuar Musa, requested for a lower bail, saying that his client, who has a wife and four children to support, earned RM5,000 a month.

The court then set bail at RM24,000 in one surety and fixed Oct 4 for mention. — Bernama