Four company directors and owners, including a married couple, have been charged with 15 separate offences at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court over alleged false claims involving the Daya Kerjaya 2.0 incentive programme submitted to the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) two years ago.
The accused — Toh Siew Ngo, 44, Lee Thiam Hee, 50, Tan Soon Loong, 37, and Liew Kam Hin, 51 — all pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them in Mandarin before Sessions Court Judge N Kanageswari on Thursday.
Soon Loong, a director of Lucky Durian Sdn Bhd and U Spa, faces nine charges, while Kam Hin, a director of International Ecological Economy Business Academy Sdn Bhd, faces four charges.
Meanwhile, married couple Thiam Hee and Siew Ngo, who are the owners of Easyway Bus Enterprise, each face one charge.
The prosecution alleges that Soon Loong, Kam Hin and Siew Ngo intended to deceive their principal by submitting Daya Kerjaya 2.0 Employee Verification Forms containing false statements to PERKESO agents on behalf of their respective companies.
Thiam Hee, meanwhile, is accused of abetting his wife by providing a PERKESO agent with a Daya Kerjaya 2.0 Employee Verification Form containing false information, allegedly with the intention of deceiving the agency.
The alleged offences were committed at Taman Sri Tebrau, Taman Daya and Taman Setia Indah in the Johor Bahru district between April 4 and Aug 27, 2024.
Soon Loong, Kam Hin and Siew Ngo were charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, while Thiam Hee was charged under Section 28(1)(c) of the same Act.
If convicted, the offences carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the false particulars involved.
The prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officers Chan Lee Lee, Alice Voon Mei Ling, Fazal Lisam Abidin and Ameera D’Aneez Mohd Shukari. The four accused were represented by lawyers Zander Lim Wai Keong and Dahlia Tan Pui San.
The court granted bail of RM30,000 for Soon Loong, RM12,000 for Kam Hin, and RM10,000 each for the married couple.
All four were also ordered to report to the nearest MACC office once a month, surrender their passports to the court and refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses.
The court fixed Sept 18 for further mention of the case.
