KUALA LUMPUR: A former supermarket cashier who abused a Touch 'n Go e-wallet terminal was sentenced to two years' jail by the Sessions Court here for criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering involving more than RM500,000.
On Monday (June 22), Sessions judge Norma Ismail sentenced Nur Atiqah Asyirah Muhamad Fauzi, 29, to two years' jail for each of the charges and ordered the terms to run concurrently from the date of sentencing.
Nur Atiqah had pleaded guilty to two counts of CBT and 12 counts of money laundering amounting to more than RM500,000.
For the two CBT charges, Nur Atiqah was entrusted with the terminal that belonged to the supermarket where she misused the machine to issue a Touch 'n Go e-wallet PIN worth RM98,800, to be redeemed into her own e-wallet.
She was charged under Section 408 of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment between a year and 14 years, caning and a fine, if convicted.
Nur Atiqah was also charged with 12 counts of laundering money amounting to RM469,400, proceeds from illegal activities, into her Touch 'n Go e-wallet, as well as the e-wallets belonging to her family members and friends.
She was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001, which provides for a maximum 15 years' imprisonment and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM5mil, upon conviction.
The offences were committed between January 2023 and September 2024.
Lawyer Arik Zakri Abdul Kadir, who represented Nur Atiqah, asked for a lenient sentence on the grounds that his client had saved the court's time by pleading guilty.
He said Nur Atiqah was a first-time offender and took accountability over what had happened.
"She has lost her job and is suffering from depression over this," he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Batrisya Mohd Khusri, however, asked the court to mete out a just sentence as the accused had caused losses to the supermarket company.
She said the offence was a calculated crime over a span of time.
"The transactions were over two years and it was not a single transaction.
"Her offence was not a 'spur of the moment mistake' but it a betrayal of trust," DPP Batrisya said.
The manager of the supermarket lodged a police report regarding the CBT.
The accused, who was a cashier then, was suspected of having taken an e-pay terminal without the supermarket's permission.
Upon checking the e-pay records, it was that the accused had been using the terminal device to reload e-wallets for her personal use.
