KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 —The manager of a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) was fined RM30,000 by the Sessions Court here today after being found guilty of submitting false lodging and subsistence allowance claims totaling RM1,855.

Judge Rosli Ahmad handed down the sentence to Norhayati Hamzah, 54, after finding that the prosecution had successfully proven the case against the woman at the end of the defence case.

“The court decided that the accused was guilty of the alternative charge under Section 471 of the Penal Code and sentenced her to a fine of RM30,000, in default (of payment), six months’ imprisonment,” the judge said.

However, the court allowed the application by lawyer S. Preakas, representing Norhayati, to postpone the payment of the fine pending an appeal to the High Court, subject to the condition that the bail be increased from RM8,000 to RM10,000 with one surety, and the accused’s passport be surrendered to the court, and she be blacklisted from travelling overseas.

According to the alternative charge, the woman was accused of using four forged documents containing claims for lodging and subsistence allowances between Dec 22, 2019, and Feb 5, 2020, totaling RM1,855, which were submitted to the Audit and Compliance Department Manager at the company, Mohd Kamal Zulkawi.

The offence was committed at the TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd office in Bangunan Penjanaan, Jalan Bangsar here, between Jan 17 and Feb 26, 2020.

The charge was framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 465 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years, or a fine, or both.

Earlier, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Prosecuting Officer Mohd Aliff Shaharuzaman requested a severe sentence, taking into account the seriousness of the offence committed by the accused.

However, Preakas requested the court to impose a fine, considering that his client has six children and this was the accused’s first offence.

A total of 17 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, including the accused, testified during the trial that began in 2022. — Bernama