By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, May 2: A group of four friends who attempted to scam a supermarket using a doctored QR code payment were sentenced to 15 months in jail each by the Magistrates’ Court here today.
The accused—Mohammad Zaire, 24; Muhammad Akmal, 25; Nur Makrifah, 24; and Mohd Jasrizan, 25—pleaded guilty when the charge was read to them before Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan.
The court heard that the group tried to deceive a 25-year-old cashier by pretending to pay for goods worth RM1,422.40 using a fake QR code receipt. The incident took place at a well-known supermarket along Jalan Batu Kawa on April 15, around 3.30pm.
Prosecutors revealed that the group’s method involved using a genuine QR payment of RM0.01 before editing the transaction receipt to display a much larger amount, tricking cashiers into thinking full payment had been made.
On the day of the incident, Muhammad Akmal presented the falsified proof of payment, which was initially crafted using an image from Nur Makrifah’s mobile phone. Mohd Jasrizan then edited a real receipt after making a tiny payment.
The cashier, suspicious of the transaction, sought help from her supervisor. CCTV footage later confirmed that the same group had attempted a similar scam at the supermarket previously. Two suspects were detained by the store’s security team, leading to a police report being filed.
All four were charged under Section 417 of the Penal Code, read together with Sections 511 and 34, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years, a fine, or both upon conviction. Their sentence begins today.
Separately, Mohd Jasrizan was also handed a two-year prison term and one stroke of the cane for a different cheating offence.
He was found guilty of duping a convenience store cashier into believing he had paid RM511.30 for goods by showing an altered QR code receipt. The offences took place on June 9 and 10 last year along Jalan Kuching-Serian.
Inspector Nur Shafiqa Nyaie Ilin prosecuted the cases. None of the accused were legally represented. — DayakDaily
