PETALING JAYA, Oct 22 — A company director was acquitted of extorting RM5 million from Sunway Group chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah after the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) decided not to pursue the case.
On February 27, 2019, Cheah Chyuan Yong, 39, pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court to the charge of extorting Jeffrey by threatening to make public a letter from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The offence was allegedly committed with the aim to prompt Jeffrey to hand over a sum of money to Beh Chun Chuan and to settle all the accused’s debt with Sunway Leasing Sdn Bhd totalling RM5 million.
The man was alleged to have committed the offence at the Sunway Pyramid shopping mall here on October 12, 2018.
He was charged under Section 385 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years, or with fine or with whipping or with any two of such punishments, upon conviction.
Lawyer Datuk Hazizah Kassim representing the accused told Bernama that the Magistrate's Court had, on June 16, ordered the accused to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) of the charge after the defence applied for a release order after Jeffrey, who is the prosecution witness and the complainant in the case, failed to present himself to testify at the trial.
“On August 4, 2020, we wrote to the Attorney-General asking for the accused to be acquitted and discharged as his DNAA status allows him to be re-charged in the future,” she said.
She said they received a letter from the AGC dated October 7 confirming that based on the excuses given in their representation, the AGC will not pursue the case.
The letter was signed by AGC Head of General Crimes and Public Order Unit Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim, she added. — Bernama
