KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — The Sessions Court here today ordered a businessman and a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) senior lecturer to enter their defence for 20 charges of fraud involving more than RM2 million.
Judge Rosbiahanin Arifin who fixed May 25-27 for the defence trial, said the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against Samad Sapari, 51, and Abdul Aziz Abdul Kadir, 51.
The two men are accused of submitting as genuine, four invoices for RM380,000 to Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) Sdn Bhd.
They allegedly handed the forged documents to the Monitoring & Government Liaison MTDC Sdn Bhd office at Menara Yayasan Tun Razak, Jalan Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur on August 24, 2009, between 8am and 6pm.
They are also accused of submitting as genuine, eight invoices for RM746,059.66 to MTDC on February 23, 2010, between 8am and 6pm.
Samad and Abdul Aziz are further accused of submitting as genuine, eight invoices for RM943,054 to MTDC on November 22, 2010, between 8am and 6pm.
The charges are framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34, and punishable under Section 465 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both, on conviction.
Prosecuting officer Wan Ahmad Nizam Wan Omar from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission called 22 witnesses during the hearing while counsel Datuk Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos and Mary Song Kim Moy will call eight witnesses in the defence stage. — Bernama
