KUANTAN: A company director has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to cheating Alliance Steel (M) Sdn Bhd (ASSB), the first investor of the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), of a sum totalling RM7.38mil three years ago.

       Teh Teng Cheng, 52, whose address is in Puchong, Selangor, was charged with committing the offence on June 28, 2019, at the ASSB office in MCKIP, Gebeng here, by submitting the Project Payment Receipt Account.

       That prompted ASSB to pay RM7.38mil to Sureland Industrial Fire Safety (M) Sdn Bhd, an act which it would not have done if it had not been deceived.

       The charge read before Judge Datuk Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain yesterday was framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and whipping, and also a fine, upon conviction.

       Bernama reported that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Siti Sarah Zainal Abiddin offered bail of RM2mil in two sureties, after taking into account the seriousness of the charge.

       Lawyer Mohd Shahrullah Khan Nawab Zadah Khan, who represented Teh, appealed for the amount to be reduced on the grounds that the accused’s wife could only afford to pay RM30,000, with his client willing to be subjected to additional conditions set by the court.

       “The accused’s company is in the process of winding up and the accused has not had a fixed income for the past two years,” he said.

       Ahmad Zamzani allowed bail of RM750,000 in two sureties with the additional condition that the accused surrender his passport to the court and report to the MACC office every month until the disposal of the case.

       Court set June 30 for mention and submission of documents.