By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Nov 3: The Magistrate’s Courts here sentenced a couple to total imprisonment of 43 months over nine charges of cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property of Social Security Organisation (Socso) by faking the death of the husband to claim compensation.
Hamidah Talaha, 45 and Mansor Idris, 46, were charged with a total of 15 charges under Section 420 of the Penal Code at three different Magistrate’s Courts in connection with the incident
However, they were charged with nine charges in two different Magistrate’s Courts here today. They pleaded guilty to all nine charges.
They faced three charges before Magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi and were sentenced to total imprisonment of 12 months and a rotan stroke for each charge, with the imprisonment term to run concurrently.
They were charged in two cases with six charges before Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali and were sentenced to imprisonment of 14 months and a rotan stroke for one of the cases with three charges. They were also sentenced to imprisonment of 15 months, 16 months and 17 months respectively for the case with three charges.
Syarifah Fatimah Azura also ordered imprisonment terms of the same case to run concurrently and to run consecutively between cases.
However, there will be no whipping executed on Hamidah under Section 289(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The couple were charged with cheating an executive officer of SOSCO by inducing him to believe that the compensation claims for Mansor, and deceived him to disburse monthly compensation amounting to RM1,354.17 per month between August 2019 and October 2020. A total of RM 26,019.40 was paid out.
Hamidah was accused of pretending to be a widow and handing a death certificate to the said Socso officer claiming that her husband Mansor had passed away.
The Socso officer discovered that he had been deceived by the couple when a People’s Volunteer Corps’ officer who is from the said officer’s kampung had told him that Mansor is still alive.
The Socso officer subsequently lodged a police report for further action to be taken. — DayakDaily
