BUKIT MERTAJAM: A company director has claimed trial to a charge of cheating a businessman in connection with a RM1.5mil loan agreement in 2019.
Pon Chee Weng, 65, entered a plea of not guilty after the charge was read out to him in Mandarin before Magistrate Sharifah Razali here on Friday (Oct 23).
Pon allegedly deceived a 45-year-old businessman into signing a loan agreement stating that he had lent the complainant RM1.5mil, despite knowing that the money had not been disbursed.
The act allegedly caused the complainant to believe that the loan had been granted, exposing him to repayment obligations under the agreement and resulting in financial loss.
The charge, framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, carries a maximum jail term of 10 years, caning and a fine upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Zulfadli Hassan proposed bail of RM20,000, while defence counsel Muhammad Hasanuddin Mohd Yusoff appealed for a lower amount, saying that his client was not a flight risk and would not abscond.
The court allowed bail of RM18,000 with the additional condition that the accused report to a police station every two months pending disposal of the case. – Bernama
