JOHOR BARU: A petrol station owner claimed trial to four charges of falsifying documents and defrauding a businessman that resulted in RM2.3 million in losses last year.
The accused, Hanafi Husin, pleaded not guilty to the charges read before judge Fatimah Zahari at the Johor Baru Sessions Court here today.
According to the charge sheet, the accused first defrauded a 34-year-old man by tricking him into handing over RM2.3 million in cash and putting it into the accused's account by offering him a "chance" to run a legitimate diesel business.
In the second charge, Hanafi was accused of using a fake consent letter for the sale of seized diesel fuel from the Johor Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs office to deceive the victim.
The accused was also charged for using a fake letter of support to procure a liquefied petroleum gas license from the Johor Fire and Rescue Department to deceive the victim to hand over the cash.
He also used a letter on underground tank storage capacity for diesel/petrol products and a support letter on the supply of RON 97 petrol/diesel to a premises in the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area on June 20, 2020 from Boustead Marketing Sdn Bhd.
The accused was alleged to have committed all the acts at his company office in the Pasir Gudang Industrial Area on June 12, 2022.
The charge was framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
Those found guilty face not less than one year or a maximum of ten years' jail, whipping and a fine.
Hanafi was also charged under Section 471 of the Penal Code for posing a forged document as genuine, which carries a maximum two years' jail or a fine or both, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurhayati Muhammad Fathullah prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Mohd Fazaly Ali Mohd Ghazali.
Bail was set at RM60,000 for all charges. The accused was also ordered to report to the nearest police station every month and hand over his passport to the court.
The case is set for mention on Jan 26 for document submission.