The accused is escorted by police from the court after he was charged with possession of counterfeit notes.
SIBU: A soldier was charged in court here yesterday with possessing RM4,000 in counterfeit notes which he allegedly printed to pay for his wedding.
Abdul Shahmi Shafiq Abdul Rahman, 28, was charged under Section 489C of the Penal Code which carries a maximum 10 years’ imprisonment upon conviction.
He was produced before Assistant Registrar of Subordinate Court Sibu, Romme Ahmad Zaidi as Sessions Court judge Caroline Bee Majanil was unavailable.
No plea was taken from the accused, who is to appear in the Sessions Court here again on Feb 26 for further mention.
The accused was allowed bail of RM2,000 with two local sureties who must each have a minimum fixed monthly income of RM2,000.
According to multiple news reports, he had allegedly printed RM50 and RM100 notes and passed them to his fiancé in Belawai for their wedding preparation.
His fiancé then handed over the notes to her mother the following morning, as the two had intended to go to Sibu to buy items for the wedding, which was scheduled to be held next month.
It was at that point when the mother discovered the notes were counterfeit.
The soldier then brought his fiancé and her mother to Sibu Central Police Station that same day to lodge a police report, in which he claimed the false notes were dispensed by an ATM machine.
He had also wanted the bank in question to replace the sum with genuine notes.
However, investigation by police revealed the suspect had printed the notes himself at his quarters in Sibu and proceeded to arrest him.