Forty-one Chinese nationals accused of involvement in an online insurance fraud syndicate, alongside 39 co-accused who remain at large, pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The accused entered their pleas before Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin after an amended charge under Section 120B(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, was read to them.
According to the amended charge, the group allegedly conspired to deceive victims through an online insurance scam by posing as police officers from China during phone and video calls.
The alleged offence took place at a resort in the district at about 9.25pm on April 7. The conspiracy relates to an offence punishable under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Earlier in the proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif informed the court that Immigration Department records showed the 39 accused who previously failed to attend court are believed to have either left Sabah or are currently in Peninsular Malaysia.
On May 25, Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos issued arrest warrants for the 39 absentees after they failed to appear for a case mention. Their bail was revoked, and the court ordered that their bail money be forfeited to the Malaysian government.
Prior to that, the court had tightened bail conditions for all 80 accused, comprising 78 Chinese nationals, including four women, as well as one Myanmar national and one Lao national. They were ordered to surrender their passports to the court and report regularly to the police while awaiting trial.
The hearing briefly turned tense when 29 accused who were not represented by lawyers refused to accept prosecution documents intended for the upcoming trial.
Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin subsequently instructed them to appoint legal counsel to ensure the documents could be properly served in accordance with court procedures before the trial proceeds.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers Jhesseny P Kang and Chen Wen Jye, who represented 10 of the accused, confirmed they had accepted the prosecution documents on behalf of their clients.
The court fixed Oct 12 to Oct 16 for the five-day trial.
