By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Jan 6: Three bank employees were brought before the Sessions Court here today on charges of cheating through a non-existent investment scheme that allegedly caused losses of about RM600,000 to three individuals.
The accused, aged between 27 and 54, pleaded not guilty to three charges read jointly before Judge Musli Abdul Hamid.
According to the charges, the trio is alleged to have acted in concert to deceive three victims aged between 43 and 64, persuading them to hand over a total of RM600,000 purportedly for investment purposes.
The offences were said to have been committed at a bank premises along Jalan Tun Jugah on October 25, November 13 and December 13, 2024.
They were charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which provides for imprisonment of between one and 10 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
Under the same provision, the three accused were also jointly charged with another individual for allegedly cheating a 54-year-old woman involving RM100,000 at the same bank on July 24, 2024. All four pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In a related case, a female bank officer was also charged with cheating two individuals, aged 44 and 56, in a separate fake investment scheme involving RM300,000.
She was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code for offences allegedly committed at the same premises on November 21 and December 12, 2024.
Judge Musli granted bail of RM50,000 with one local surety for each accused, with the additional condition that they have a fixed address in Kuching. The court fixed January 21 for mention of the cases.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Adriana Maisarah Mohd Farid and Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar. One of the accused was represented by lawyer Shemira Adzhar, while the remaining three were represented by Tiong Ing Neng and Patrick Voon.
Previously, three bank employees were charged at the Sessions Court on December 10, 2025, with cheating an elderly man in a bogus investment scheme that resulted in losses of RM16,000.
They were alleged to have jointly deceived the 61-year-old victim into handing over the money at the same bank along Jalan Tun Jugah on November 15, 2024. The three, who pleaded not guilty, were released on court bail of RM10,000 each with one local surety.
Previous media reports stated that Stampin Member of Parliament Chong Chieng Jen had arranged a meeting between four victims of the alleged scams and senior representatives from the bank’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Chong said the victims suffered losses after being deceived by bank officers who promoted fictitious investment schemes in separate incidents throughout 2024 and 2025
He added that the victims were instructed to withdraw cash from their bank accounts, after which the officers allegedly pretended to invest the money and issued fake receipts resembling official bank documents. – DayakDaily
