BUTTERWORTH: A former legal claims adviser has been fined RM97,200 by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to two charges of cheating involving Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) claims last year.
Judge Zulhazmi Abdullah handed down the sentence on A. Ari, 37, after he admitted to the charges at the Butterworth court on Wednesday (Aug 20).
The court also ordered him to serve six months jail for each charge in default of the fines.
In the first charge, Ari had admitted to having cheated Muhammad Helmi Abd Rahman, 36, by deceiving him into believing that he could secure a higher percentage of Permanent Disability Assessment (HUK) by a medical board in a PERKESO claim.
This led the victim to hand over RM50,000 at a restaurant in Seberang Jaya in September 2023.
For the second charge, Ari had used the same modus operandi to cheat another man, Mohammad Azrin Ibrahim, 29, of RM47,200.
Both charges were framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of five years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutors Noor Azura Zulkiflee and Nurnajihatul Idayu Mohd Azuyar had urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence.
“If the court allows a fine, I request that it be a reasonable amount,” said Noor Azura.
However, Ari’s counsel, S. Parameswaran, during mitigation, pleaded for a lower fine, citing his client’s current financial struggles.
“My client has since been sacked and now works as a lorry driver earning RM4,000 to RM5,000 a month after being dismissed from the legal firm.
"He also supports his mother, his wife, who is a housewife, and two school-going children aged 10 and 12.
“He has saved the court’s time by pleading guilty, is remorseful after being remanded for four days following the arrest and promised not to reoffend.
“Moreover, he did not keep all the money and had to pawn his wife’s jewellery to raise RM60,000 for the fine,” he said.
