LABUAN: Forty-nine of 57 individuals pleaded not guilty in a Magistrates’ Court here Tuesday (July 7) to an amended charge over their alleged involvement in an online investment scam syndicate targeting victims from South Korea last month.
The amended charge was framed under Section 120B(1) of the Penal Code for abetting a criminal conspiracy, replacing the original charge under Section 120B(2) of the same code for committing a criminal conspiracy by deceiving victims into investing in an investment scheme.
All 49 accused, comprising 48 Chinese nationals and one Malaysian, entered the plea after the charge was read before Magistrate Dr Melissa Chia.
Meanwhile, eight Vietnamese nationals had previously pleaded guilty to the original charge under Section 120B(2) of the Penal Code and were each sentenced to two months’ imprisonment.
All the accused were charged with involvement in a criminal conspiracy linked to an online investment scam syndicate that targeted South Korean nationals through the KnowChat and Telegram applications.
The court fixed Aug 13 for mention, while the trial is scheduled to be held from Nov 23 to 27.
The court allowed bail of RM8,000 each with two local sureties for two of the accused, while six others had previously been released on bail, bringing the total number of accused granted bail to eight.
The remaining 41 accused were not allowed bail.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Yousuf Tahir Mahmood.
All of them were arrested in a police operation at premises in Jalan Dewan here at about 8.40am on June 1.
