SIBU: A 45-year-old man charged with non-existent car buying and selling fraud, pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court here on Monday (Sept 28).
The accused, Lee Ling Tong, from Kuching, was charged with 26 charges under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of not less than a year and not more than 10 years, whipping and fined, if convicted.
Sarawak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Supt Maria Rasid said that the accused committed the crime from 2007 until April 2014.
“The accused committed the crime in Sibu, where he offered several cars to the victims and asked them to make payments in stages.
“When the victims made their payments via bank transfer, the car that was promised and supposedly already bought did not exist and the accused disappeared,” she said in a statement.
Lee was later arrested by a team of police from Bukit Aman CCID and Sarawak CCID on Sept 14 in Kuala Lumpur.
Maria added that an investigation paper for Kuching has been opened against the accused involving a total loss of RM223,450.
The prosecution in Sibu Magistrate’s Court was conducted in two separate courts by prosecuting officers Insp Badrul Iskandar Selamat and Insp Awang Iswandi Awang Mahmuddin before Magistrate 1 Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali and Magistrate 2 Muhammad Faizal Che Saad.
The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, pleaded not guilty to all 26 charges read out against him.
She said both Magistrates have set Oct 19 for re-mention.
Syarifah Fatimah offered the accused a cash bail of RM12,000 with two local sureties with a fixed income of not less than RM1,500 per month for 12 charges read out.
Muhammad Faizal also offered a cash bail of RM10,000 with two local sureties with a fixed income of not less than RM1,000 per month for 14 charges read out.
