SHAH ALAM: A retired civil servant and a former temple chairman pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here on Monday (April 6) to charges of using a forged invoice and abetting a false claim for repair works at a place of worship amounting to RM50,000 five years ago, Sinar Harian reports.
The retired civil servant, M. Thiruselvam, 65, and former chairman of the Sri Sakthi Easwari Temple, P. Selvam, 70, entered their pleas after the charges were read out before Judge Mohd Nasir Nordin and Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud.
According to the charge, Thiruselvam, who has four children, is accused of using as genuine a forged document, namely an invoice dated Nov 15, 2021 for RM50,000.
It was for a payment claim for “Consultancy of Majlis Approval for New Yaga Salai, Resolving Leaking Work for Poorviga Amman and Resolving Leaking Work for Main Temple (Vinayagar Sanathi, Easwari Sanathi and Murugan Sanathi)”.
The document was allegedly given to the temple secretary, V. Gopala Krishnan, 64, knowing it to be forged, at the temple in Petaling Jaya here on Nov 22, 2021.
The charge is framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465 of the same code, which carries a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, Selvam is charged with abetting Thiruselvam in relation to the same claim, allegedly committed on the same date and at the same location.
He is charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465, carrying the same penalty.
The prosecution was conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) prosecuting officer Muhammad Arif Asyraf Mohd Khairi. Thiruselvam was represented by lawyer N. Lalitha, while Selvam was represented by lawyer M. Segaran.
Thiruselvam was allowed bail of RM5,000, while Selvam was granted bail of RM15,000, each with one surety.
Both courts also ordered each accused to comply with additional conditions: to surrender their passports to the court, to report to the MACC office once a month, and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.
The court also allowed an application to transfer the case to be tried before Judge Mohd Nasir and fixed May 11 for case mention.
