JOHOR BARU: Twenty Chinese and Indonesian nationals have been charged at the Magistrate’s Court here with cheating and criminal conspiracy following their arrest at illegal call centres linked to scams.
Lin Kun Chi, 32, and Bai Kan Sen, 30, pleaded guilty to the charge read in Mandarin before Magistrate A. Shaarmini on Wednesday (July 29).
They were accused of acting with common intention to carry out a criminal conspiracy and taking part in it, having agreed among themselves to commit the unlawful deed of deceiving victims through love scams.
They were charged under Section 417 of the Penal Code for cheating and Section 120B(1) for criminal conspiracy for the offence committed at an apartment unit in Forest City, Tanjung Kupang in Gelang Patah at 12.16pm on July 15.
Lin and Bai both asked for lighter sentences, claiming that they came to Malaysia after falling for fake job opportunities that turned out to be illegal activities.
Magistrate Shaarmini sentenced them each to a month’s imprisonment and a fine of RM7,000 in default of six months’ imprisonment.
During the proceedings, 18 Indonesians, including five women, were also charged with the same offence.
They pleaded not guilty and asked for a lower bail amount, saying they were also victims of fake job offers, which led them to come to Malaysia.
The court set bail at RM50,000 with two Malaysian sureties for each of the accused, and told them to hand over their passports.
The Magistrate set Aug 11 for the next mention, and the court would also write to the Indonesian embassy for legal representation for the accused.
Deputy public prosecutor Anis Syafeeqah Mohd Shariffudin prosecuted the case while the accused were unrepresented.
Earlier, Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said 335 individuals were arrested at 32 premises at Forest City in relation to various scams including love scams, currency scams and cryptocurrency fraud.
The suspects, who reportedly operated in apartments and bungalow units, came from China, Indonesia, and Myanmar, while four were locals.
On Tuesday, a total of 159 of the suspects had been charged in court with criminal conspiracy in relation to cryptocurrency fraud.
