KOTA KINABALU: Ten people linked to RM24.2 million illegal bank withdrawals were charged at the Sessions Court here with being members of an organised crime group.
The 10 individuals are - Subramaniam Thangavelu, 56, (teacher); Josepin J. Langkan, 38, (contractor); Nasir Abdul Rasid, 60, (pensioner); Irene Chin Nyuk Thien, 38, (branch bank manager); Christina @ Caroline Pianus Etip, 53, (branch bank manager); Sugumaran K. Ponniah, 56, (self-employed); Vireonis Jonok, 35, (unemployed); Leong Hin Ping, 62, (pensioner); Hasran Magin, 46, (fisherman); and Mazlani Jenuary, 53, an (unemployed).
No plea was taken from all of them who appeared before judge Amir Syah Amir Hassan.
Their plea will be taken at the High Court.
All of them were separately accused of being members of an organised crime group involved in a serious offence in order to obtain a material benefit for the group led by Josepin.
They committed the offence between April 26 and July 10 at the MBSB bank branch here.
The offence under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code provides imprisonment for a term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years, upon conviction
The court fixed Sept 13 for further mention and no bail was granted to all the accused.
Sugumaran, Nasir and Leong were defended by counsel Dominic Chew and Ariel Dasan; Irene was represented by counsel Mohd Al Hafidz Mohd Lokman and Luqman Syazwan Zabidi; Christina was represented by counsel Arthur Borine; and Mazlani was represented by counsel Datuk Marzuki Spawi.
Hasran was unrepresented.
Deputy public prosecutor Lina Hanini Ismail and Maryam Jamielah Ab Manaff prosecuted.
Previously, 14 suspects were arrested in connection with the case following raids in Sabah and the peninsula and detained under Section 4(5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012.
In June 21, Bernama reported that police received four reports from account holders and bank staff in early June in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, after the victims noticed suspicious cash withdrawals from their fixed deposit accounts in Kota Kinabalu.
It was reported that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has requested prompt refunds to all affected account holders following the fraudulent withdrawals of fixed deposits amounting to RM24.2 million.
The central bank said it takes a serious view of the recent reports that large-scale unauthorised cash withdrawals arising from the collusion of financial institution employees with external parties.