KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — The High Court acquitted and discharged two former directors of a rubber manufacturing company on a charge of submitting false documents to Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT over a non-existent sale of used machines totalling nearly RM3 million two years ago.
Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Wong Ping Kiong, 60, and Tai Boon Wee, 63, said Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid ordered both his clients to be freed after allowing their applications to set aside the charges made against them.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How confirmed the matter.
Based on the notice of motion, Wong and Tai filed the applications to set aside the charges under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission 2009 because they could not be said to ‘intend’ to deceive or mislead Grant Thornton if the documents referred to had nothing to do with the company.
On January 13 this year, Wong pleaded not guilty to four counts of submitting false documents to Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT over a non-existent sale of used machines totalling nearly RM3 million.
According to the first charge, she allegedly submitted the GIIB Rubber Debit Note document dated December 30, 2019, amounting to RM2.95 million to Grant Thornton Malaysia’s audit manager Tam Siew Ping, containing false information regarding the sale of six units of used machines that did not take place which was intended to deceive the company.
For the second to fourth charges, Wong is accused of the same offence involving another document containing the permission granted to Goodway Rubber Industries Sdn Bhd for the disposal of the same used machines that did not take place.
She is accused of committing the offence at Grant Thornton Malaysia’s office at Sheraton Imperial Court, along Jalan Sultan Ismail, between January and February 2021, under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
The offence is punishable under Section 24 (2) of the same Act with imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the false details or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
As for Tai, he pleaded not guilty to three charges of colluding with Wong to commit the offence at the same location and date.
The charges were framed under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act 2009, read together with Section 8 of the same Act, punishable under Section 24(2) of the act, which carries an imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the false information or RM10,000 whichever is higher, upon conviction.
— Bernama
