BUTTERWORTH: Two friends pleaded not guilty in the magistrate's court today to charges of deceiving a man into believing that two gold bars they were selling were real.
The accused, Teh Yong Yang, 33, and Ooi Kar Hon, 42, both locksmiths, claimed trial when the charges were read to them before magistrate Siti Zulaikha Nordin@Ghani.
According to the charges, the two allegedly deceived a 64-year-old man by convincing him that the two Swiss gold bars they were selling were genuine, leading the victim to hand over RM32,000 in cash.
The offence is said to have occurred at a pawn shop on Jalan Bagan Ajam in Seberang Perai Utara on June 13 and 14, at around 12.59pm and 11.01am, respectively.
The charges were brought under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for one to 10 years, whipping, and a possible fine.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurameera Shahrul Azrin handled the case, while the two accused were not represented by a lawyer.
During the proceedings, Nurameera proposed bail of RM10,000 for each charge against the accused.
The court granted bail of RM14,000 each with one surety and set Oct 9 as the date for the appointment of a lawyer and submission of documents.
In a related case in the same court, Teh faced two additional charges of deceiving a 45-year-old woman in a gold transaction that resulted in a loss of RM34,000.
This offence allegedly took place at a nasi kandar restaurant on Jalan Chain Ferry between 9am and 6.15pm on July 14.
Teh pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, after which the magistrate set bail at RM14,000.
The court scheduled the same date as the initial charges for the appointment of a lawyer and submission of documents.