KUCHING: Renting out an ATM card for RM100 a month to an acquaintance proved costly for a young man who was fined RM200 or five days’ jail by the Magistrate’s Court after he pleaded guilty to possessing illicit funds in his personal account.
Magistrate Zaiton Anuar handed down the sentence on the 20-year-old accused from Kampung Sibau Rimbau after hearing a social report from the Department of Social Welfare yesterday.
According to the charge, he was charged under Section 37(1) of the Minor Offences Ordinance 1958 for possessing illicit funds in his personal account amounting to RM1,300.
He was said to have possessed the money after a deposit was made into his account from a bank in Satok at around 7.09 pm on December 30, 2022.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined RM500.
Based on the facts of the case, the victim had lodged a police report after being deceived into a non-existent online loan.
The victim, who was deceived, made a payment for the loan by depositing RM1,300 into the personal account of the accused.
Until the police report was made, the victim did not receive the promised loan, and his phone number was also blocked.
Investigations led to the accused after it was found that the ownership of the money was registered under his name, which was obtained illegally, and he failed to provide a reasonable explanation as to how the money ended up in his account.
It is understood that the accused admitted to pledging his ATM card to a man named Margerate for rent at a rate of RM100 per month.
The prosecution was handled by Inspector Merylene Lindan Andrew Mang, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.
