KUALA TERENGGANU: A former primary school headmistress from Marang has been charged with 15 counts of abetment to cheat and submitting false documents linked to the supply of food and drinks to students and a fraudulent cleaning contract totalling RM500,319.
Zalina Bidin, 47, entered a plea of not guilty to all the charges, which were presented before Judge Mohd Azhar Othman. She is accused of 12 counts of abetment by criminal conspiracy with the school's senior administrative assistant and an agent from a supply company. The trio allegedly cheated the school by submitting false documents for the supply of food and drinks between May 2, 2022, and Feb 20, 2023, leading the school to issue 12 cheques worth approximately RM500,000.
If convicted under Sections 420 and 190 of the Penal Code, Zalina could face up to 10 years in jail, accompanied by whipping and a fine.
Zalina was also charged with three counts of abetment by criminal conspiracy with a cleaning company supervisor. They allegedly submitted a verification form on the number of employees and attendance records containing false details. This document was used to claim payments for worker salaries, despite the employees not showing up for work.
These charges were brought under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, accusing Zalina of deceiving her principal. The offences were allegedly committed at her school from July to September 2022. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of either five times the sum or value of the false or erroneous material, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Judge Mohd Azhar set bail at RM25,000 with one surety for all charges, and ordered Zalina to surrender her passport to the court and report to the Terengganu MACC office monthly. The case management for document submission is set for Feb 17.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Feisal Mohd Azmi represented the prosecution, while Zalina was defended by lawyer Mohd Hazwan Hamidun – Bernama
