SHAH ALAM: The former chief executive officer of the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) was charged again in the Sessions Court here with 17 counts of misappropriation of the company’s funds amounting to RM1.63mil.
Datuk Mohamad Madani Sahari, 57, pleaded not guilty after all charges were read before Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud here yesterday, reported Bernama.
Mohamad Madani is accused of dishonestly using MARii funds between 2020 and 2021, amounting to RM1,630,200, by issuing cheques from LPS Learning Platform for a stem cell treatment of RM500,000 at VHG Wellness, at a branch of a bank in Section 20 here, between July 13, 2020 and April 26, 2021.
The charge, framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of not less than six months and not more than five years, with whipping and fine, upon conviction.
Judge Awang Kerisnada, following a request by deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How, allowed the accused bail of RM300,000 in one surety, with his passport to be handed over to the court, as stipulated by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Monday.
Law also applied for the case to be tried together with another case at the Criminal Sessions Court 8 in Kuala Lumpur.
Lawyers Rahmat Mohamed Hazlan and Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed, representing the accused, did not object to the application. The court set Feb 29 for mention.
On Monday, Mohamad Madani claimed trial in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on a charge of cheating MARii’s board of directors by deceiving them into believing that the price offered by LPS Learning Platform to conduct the training was RM6.4mil, when the actual price was only RM2.3mil, five years ago.
