KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — An American businessman was charged in the Sessions Court here, today with cheating a local bank involving payments of hotel accommodation and facilities of over RM3 million last March.

Rathan Frank Thorng, 56, who also holds Cambodian citizenship, pleaded not guilty to the charge which was read out to him in English before judge Ahmad Kamar Jamaludin.

The accused, a Santander Bank debit Mastercard holder, while knowing that the bank account had been closed, had allegedly cheated Maybank Berhad by making illegal offline transactions for accommodation and facilities payments for an "Ankor Thok Development Sdn Bhd Group Meeting” at Pullman Hotel.

This prompted Maybank to illegally transfer RM3,570,241.60 to the hotel located at Jalan Pantai Jaya, here, between March 26 and April 6.

The charge was framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine, or both, if convicted.

The court denied bail to Rathan and fixed June 25 for mention.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Khairiyah Samsudin appeared for the prosecution while the accused was represented by lawyer M. Theeruvarasu. — Bernama