KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — A former e-hailing driver was charged in separate courts in Klang today with armed robbery, fraud and theft involving losses of more than RM90,000 in cash and jewellery.

B. Murugan, 52, pleaded not guilty to all 12 charges, which were read to him in Tamil before a Sessions Court judge and three magistrates, according to Kosmo! Online.

The father of one was charged with two counts of armed robbery involving a knife against two Malaysian women, both aged 74, in Taman Sri Sentosa and Bandar Sultan Sulaiman on January 3, 2024 and February 10 this year.

The charges, heard before Sessions Court Judge Mujib Saroji, were framed under Section 392 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 397, which provides for up to 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine or whipping upon conviction.

At the Magistrates’ Courts, Murugan also faced three charges before Magistrates Siti Zubaidah Mamat and Nor Azilah Mat, and four more before Magistrate A. Karthiyayini.

The charges comprise five counts of cheating, four counts of theft — including one count of theft in a building — and one count of robbery involving 10 women aged between 57 and 77 in the Klang area between 2022 and this year.

The cheating charges were brought under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years or a fine.

The theft in a building charge was framed under Section 380 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine, while the remaining theft charges were brought under Section 379, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ jail or a fine.

The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutors Nor Suhaili Abu Bakar, Mohammad Uzzair Rosman and Salman Alfarisi Nawawi, together with prosecuting officer Inspector Mohamad Rabiul Awal Ishak, proposed bail of between RM4,000 and RM12,000 for each offence, along with any additional conditions imposed by the court.

Defence counsel T. Daneish sought minimum bail, telling the court his client was a former e-hailing driver, the family’s sole breadwinner and suffered from heart disease.

The court granted total bail of RM46,000 and fixed September 9 for case mention at the Sessions Court and October 13 at the Magistrates’ Court.