Co-op chairman claims trial to misappropriating over RM420,000

SEREMBAN: A 73-year-old chairman of a cooperative in a land scheme claimed trial to a charge of misappropriating RM422,440.

Zainol Ishak pleaded not guilty after the charge was read before Sessions Court judge Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi on Tuesday (April 30).

He was charged with committing the offence at a bank in Gemas between August 2020 and November 2021.

Zainol was charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of between six months and five years with whipping and a fine, if found guilty.

He was chairman of Koperasi Felda Palong Empat when the offence was allegedly committed.

Deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Mohamad Azriff Firdaus Mohammad then asked the court to set bail at RM40,000.

He also asked that the accused be made to surrender his passport and to report once a month to the MACC until the case is disposed of.

Lawyer for the accused Shahidah Muslimah Roslan objected to the bail amount as her client was only told on Monday (April 29) that he would be charged on Tuesday (April 30).

"My client cannot possibly raise the amount at such a short notice.

"He is the sole breadwinner and has to look after his four orphaned grandchildren, who are still studying," she said.

Shahidah said Zainol had also served the cooperative well since 1982 and was never charged for any offence previously.

She said her client, who also suffered from chronic hypertension, could afford a bail amount of between RM10,000 and RM15,000.

Judge Meor Sulaiman then set bail at RM20,000 with one surety and fixed May 30 for next mention.

He also ordered the accused to report to the MACC on the first Saturday of every month and to surrender his passport to the court.