By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 11: An engineering company director was charged in the Sessions Court here today with allegedly misappropriating RM120,306 entrusted to him for the payment of employees’ Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions.
The 37-year-old accused pleaded not guilty to the charge before Sessions Court Judge Mursyida Abdul Halim.
According to the charge, the accused, in his capacity as a company director, was entrusted with RM120,306 intended for workers’ EPF contributions.
He was alleged to have committed criminal breach of trust (CBT) by failing to remit the contributions despite having received the funds for that purpose.
The alleged offence took place at the company’s office between September 2022 and September 2023.
The accused was charged under Section 405 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 409 of the same law.
Upon conviction, the offence carries a jail term of between two and 20 years, whipping, and a possible fine.
The court granted the accused bail of RM10,000 in cash with one local surety and ordered him to surrender his passport to the court.
The case was fixed for mention on Sept 11 for further case management.
The prosecution case arose after the complainant company appointed the accused’s company as a subcontractor in April 2022 for a project. Under the arrangement, the complainant company was responsible for providing financial funding, while the accused’s company was tasked with carrying out the project works.
Between August 2022 and August 2023, the accused’s company submitted claims for workers’ salaries and statutory contributions, including EPF, Social Security Organisation (Socso), and Employment Insurance System (EIS) payments.
The complainant company subsequently transferred more than RM300,000 into the accused company’s account to cover the claimed payments.
However, the complainant company discovered in 2025 that the accused’s company had allegedly failed to remit the EPF, Socso, and EIS contributions on behalf of its workers, despite having received the full amounts claimed for those purposes.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Marvind Kaliyani prosecuted the case while the accused was represented by lawyers Daniel Ling and Vanessa Yii. — DayakDaily
