Two former senior executives of construction company THP Bina Sdn Bhd have been charged separately at the Sessions Courts with criminal breach of trust and abetment involving RM72,000 in penalty collections.
Former THP Bina safety and health manager Nasahruddin Ahmad, 56, faced three charges of criminal breach of trust, while former deputy general manager Tengku Kamarolhisham Tengku Kamaruddin, 55, was charged with three counts of abetment.
Both men pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Sessions Court judges Rosli Ahmad and Azura Alwi respectively.
THP Bina is a construction subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Haji involved in property development, including the Putrajaya Islamic Complex project.
Nasahruddin’s first charge involved RM22,400 in penalties collected from contractor Fourth Wave Sdn Bhd for a development project at the Putrajaya Islamic Complex in Precinct 3.
He was accused of dishonestly misappropriating the money by depositing it into his personal bank account between April 26 and Dec 17, 2013.
He was subsequently charged with misappropriating RM25,600 collected from the same contractor between Feb 6 and Dec 2, 2014, which was also allegedly deposited into his own account.
For the third charge, Nasahruddin allegedly misappropriated another RM24,000 in penalty collections from Fourth Wave between Feb 16 and Aug 12, 2015.
Tengku Kamarolhisham, meanwhile, was accused of abetting Nasahruddin by intentionally directing him to deposit the money into the latter’s bank account.
Nasahruddin was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, while Tengku Kamarolhisham faced charges under Section 109 read together with Section 409 of the same law.
Those convicted under the provisions face between two and 20 years in jail, whipping and a possible fine.
Deputy public prosecutor Irna Julieza Maaras, who appeared for the prosecution in both cases, proposed bail of RM70,000.
Lawyer Muhammad Naqib Aiman Mohd Faizal, representing both accused, asked for a lower amount, arguing that bail was intended to ensure their attendance in court and should not be punitive.
Rosli granted Nasahruddin bail of RM50,000, while Azura set bail at RM45,000 for Tengku Kamarolhisham.
Both cases will be heard before Rosli after the prosecution applied to have Tengku Kamarolhisham’s case transferred to the same court.
The charges came a day after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it had opened 14 investigation papers following findings from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the management and operations of Lembaga Tabung Haji.
MACC said four of the 14 investigation papers had been classified as requiring no further action.
The anti-graft agency also said 11 people had been remanded in connection with its investigations, including former senior officials and directors linked to Tabung Haji and several companies.
