KUALA LUMPUR: A former insurance agent has been fined RM14,000 by the Sessions Court here after he admitted to cheating a bank and using false documents to obtain a special loan.
Ahmad Nadzri Ab Razak, 38, pleaded guilty to cheating Bank Islam for the purpose of approving a RM150,000 loan under a special scheme offered to Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) employees.
He also pleaded guilty to another cheating charge by using fake documents for the purpose of the loan.
The offences were committed at Bank Islam Semarak branch between Sept 1 and Oct 31 2018.
Both charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code carries imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine, or both, if convicted.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Raihanah Razak urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence to serve as a lesson to the accused and a warning to the public.
Ahmad Nadzri's lawyer Subash Ramasamy, however, sought the court to impose a fine instead of imprisonment.
He said his client, was a first-time offender and financially desperate, and had vowed to turn over a new leaf.
Judge Norma Ismail fined Ahmad Nadzri RM14,000 and ordered him to serve four months' imprisonment if he fails to pay the amount.
According to statement of facts, a complaint was lodged by a bank officer who received a letter from Bank Islam addressed to an individual not employed by the bank.
The report was lodged over concerns that the bank's address might have been abused.
An investigation by the bank found that there was an application for a special loan for LHDN staff by one Ahmad Nadzri.
Further checks with LHDN confirmed that the individual was not employed by LHDN and the loan was obtained using fake documents.
A police investigation showed that Ahmad Nadzri was blacklisted and had engaged two other individuals to help him forge the documents.
