Day in court: Vemal being brought to the Magistrate’s Court by policemen to be charged.
IPOH: A former senior manager of a multinational company has claimed trial at a Magistrate’s Court here for dishonestly receiving and concealing RM1.4mil.
Vemal Venugopal Naidu, 36, pleaded not guilty to the charges under Sections 411 and 424 of the Penal Code before Magistrate S. Punitha yesterday.
In the first charge, Vemal is said to have dishonestly received about RM1.4mil, which belonged to a subsidiary of the multinational company, into his bank account despite knowing that the money was stolen property.
The offence allegedly took place at a bank in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah here on Sept 29, 2023.
In the second charge, the accused is said to have disposed of the money by moving it from his bank account to a different bank account on the same day at the same location.
Both charges carry a punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Zulqarnain Wan Asmira proposed bail of RM15,000 for both charges, and for Vemal’s passport to be surrendered.
Vemal’s counsel Gurbachan Singh requested a lower bail amount, saying his client is currently unemployed.
Magistrate Punitha set bail at RM7,000 with one surety and ordered Vemal to surrender his passport to the court. She also set March 19 for mention.
When met outside the courtroom, Gurbachan said his client had worked in Indonesia but was arrested in Miri, Sarawak, last Tuesday.
