KUALA LUMPUR: A food preparation assistant at a hospital pleaded not guilty to three charges of cheating related to a non-existent gold investment scheme, Paddy Jewellery, involving RM310,550 between May 2022 and August this year.
Rosdi Abd Malek, 35, is accused of deceiving a 38-year-old woman, a hardware goods manager, into investing in the scheme at an apartment in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, in May 2022, prompting her to transfer RM153,900 into two bank accounts belonging to Paddy Jewellery.
He is also accused of tricking a 47-year-old hospital worker into believing he could supply gold at below-market prices, which led the victim to deposit RM156,650 into the same company’s account at a hospital in Jalan Pahang between May 13 and Aug 19.
Both charges fall under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of one to 10 years, with caning and a possible fine upon conviction.
Rosdi faces another charge of accepting RM153,900 in deposits from the same woman through two bank accounts under Paddy Jewellery’s name, without a valid license, at the same apartment, between Feb 20 and June 28.
The charge, under Section 137(1) of the Financial Services Act 2013, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to RM50 million, or both, upon conviction.
Judge Rosli Ahmad granted the defendant bail of RM35,000 with one surety for all three charges, with additional conditions including surrendering his passport to the court. The case is set for mention on Dec 10.
Deputy public prosecutors Raihanah Abd Razak and M. Saravanan appeared for the prosecution, while Rosdi was represented by lawyer Davey Wan Guan Hui.
Earlier media reports revealed that police had received 69 complaints related to the 'PA Jewellery' and 'Paddy Jewellery' gold investment scams, with losses amounting to RM48.5mil.
Investigations revealed that this investment scheme offered five investment packages with returns based on current gold prices. - Bernama
