By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, Nov 14: A former officer with Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Miri pleaded guilty in the Miri Sessions Court today to charges of submitting false claims amounting to RM86,000.
The matter involved 56 villagers who are smallholders from Rumah Abok Jabu, Long Teru, Tinjar Baram.
The 42-year-old accused faced 19 charges for offences allegedly committed between July 2013 until July 2014.
The accused Leman Sumong pleaded guilty when he was produced before Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong here today.
Judge Nixon sentenced Leman to 18 months’ imprisonment and fined him RM430,000 in default of 65 months’ imprisonment.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The accused was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for deceiving his principal with receipts, accounts and documents containing false information.
He was charged with misleading his principal, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Miri, by submitted fake claims containing false informations on the small-time planters’ application of their ‘Borang Permohonan Skim Tanam Baru Sawit Pekebun Kecil (TBSPK)’ to MPOB for payment.
According to the charge sheet, 19 out of 56 participants from Rumah Abok Kampung Ulu Teru Tinjar Baram claimed the clearing works to prepare for oil palm planting had not been done by MYY Farm Agro Enterprise until now.
For the record, the accused is also the owner of MYY Farm Agro Entreprise.
Based on MACC’s investigation, the accused claimed that 19 participants completed the necessary documentation and the accused had submitted their applications to MPOB for payment.
However, all 19 participants have verified that the thumbprints and the signatures on the application forms did not belong to them.
The accused was arrested by MACC on November 9 this year. — DayakDaily
