JOHOR BARU: A 35-year-old former company director has been fined RM31,000 by the Sessions Court here for submitting false documents to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to claim incentives under the Penjana Kerjaya 2.0 programme.
A. Mohana Sundharam pleaded guilty to the offence before Sessions judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail on Wednesday (Sept 4).
The fine was imposed in default three months’ jail.
Mohana Sundharam and his 36-year-old ex-wife P. Poowesna were first charged on Nov 14 with four counts of submitting false claims amounting to RM61,120.
The two accused, who were husband and wife as well as the directors of TMB Resources at the time of the alleged offence, were said to have submitted false claims to Socso for 10 new employees on May 30, 2021 with intent to mislead the agency.
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They were later offered four alternative charges under Section 471 of the Penal Code.
His ex-wife was earlier fined RM21,000 by the same court after she pleaded guilty to the charges on July 10.
The court was to sentence both the accused that day but Mohana Sundharam was absent because of food poisoning.
The case was prosecuted by Nurzahida Muhammad Ruzi and Rais Adha Ramli of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission while the accused was represented by Abdul Rahim Ali.
The Penjana Kerjaya 2.0 initiative was a hiring incentive programme where employers could apply for up to RM6,000 per person per month for up to six months when hiring new employees or apprentices.
