JOHOR BARU, Jan 30 — A construction material supplier pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here today to 19 counts of cheating and misappropriation of properties which resulted in losses of RM1.05 million last year.
The accused, Ernest Edwin De Silva Charles, 52, made the plea when the charges were read out to him before magistrates Azureen Sahira Saufee Afandi, Siti Hajar Ali and Noor Aisyah Ahmad in three separate courts.
The father of three is accused of committing the offences between June and Dec last year at several areas in Masai and Skudai here.
Fifteen of the charges involved dishonest misappropriation of properties belonging to a car rental company which he allegedly sold for his own benefit.
The offences under Section 403 of the Penal Code provides for a jail term not exceeding five years with whipping and is liable to a fine, upon conviction.
For the other four charges the accused allegedly induced several victims into handing over some money by misleading them to believe that he could secure them non-existent luxury cars including a BMW 328GT and Mercedes 350.
The charges framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail term of 10 years with whipping and liable to a fine, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutors Mohd Syafiq Razali and Muhammad Mohd Nasir, offered bail at RM74,000 for all the charges.
However counsel Arwa Abdul Rahman who represented the accused appealed for lesser bail as her client was having some health problems and has to support his wife, three school-going children and ailing mother.
The court set bail at RM43,500 with one surety and fixed March 5 for re-mention. — Bernama
