Datuk among six remanded over cheating Sabah govt of gold royalty

The suspects (seated) were brought to the Tawau court for a remand order on Wednesday (May 17).

KOTA KINABALU: Six people including a Datuk have been arrested for allegedly cheating the Sabah government of RM1.25mil worth of royalty from their gold mining operations.

It is believed the individuals from two mining companies did not declare about 100kg of gold, worth some RM25mil, mined from Bukit Mantri in the east coast Tawau district.

The suspects, five men and a woman aged 42 to 67, were detained by officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Tawau around midnight Tuesday (May 16) for investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

At 11am on Wednesday (May 17), they were brought separately by MACC officers to the Tawau court where prosecuting officer Asmawi Kulup Lam applied for a remand order.

Magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu subsequently ordered all six suspects to be remanded for three days until Friday (May 19).

It is understood that the suspects, including the chief executive officer and director of a company, had allegedly tried to deceive the Sabah government by providing statements on the sale of the gold with false details.

They had apparently avoided paying royalties to the state government from the mining operations at Bukit Mantri.

It was learned that the 100kg of gold was part of the find from mining operations in the area from 2020 to last year.

It was believed that two companies allegedly conspired to commit the crime.