A 22-year-old man was fined RM10,000, or face three years in prison if he fails to pay, after pleading guilty to handling unlawful transactions involving RM22,800 through his bank account.
Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan imposed the sentence after Mazlan Wong Han Bang admitted to the charge.
According to court documents, Wong carried out the unlawful debit transactions through his bank account between 1.31pm and 3.47pm on March 15, 2025, at Ace Delights Food Court in Kampung Nagapas, Papar.
He was charged under Section 424C(1) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of three to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of between RM10,000 and RM150,000, or both upon conviction.
The court heard that the victim received a WhatsApp message from an individual identifying himself as Rayner from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia.
The suspect claimed he wanted to book catering services and also requested the victim to sponsor bird’s nests as a token of appreciation.
The victim was then instructed to purchase the bird’s nests from another individual identified as Gerry.
Believing the request to be genuine, the victim transferred RM22,800 in four separate transactions to a bank account registered under Wong’s name.
After the payments were made, the suspect reportedly blocked the victim’s phone number.
Wong was arrested on June 13, 2025.
During investigations, he admitted that he had handed over his bank account details and ATM card to a third party.
Police investigations later found that Wong had been directly involved in facilitating the unlawful transactions.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Shafeerah Mad Iskim, while Wong was represented by lawyer Azizah Saleh.
