KULAI: An unemployed man has been given five months in jail by a Magistrate's Court here for threatening to burn down MCA National Public Complaints and Service Bureau deputy chief Chua Jian Boon’s family house.

       Teng Chee Sing, 34, pleaded guilty after the charge was read out to him in Mandarin before magistrate Sharifah Maleeha Syed Hussin.

       According to the charge sheet, Teng was accused of making a threat through a phone call using a private number to Chua’s 58-year-old father and telling him that he would burn down his house.

       He had committed the offence at 12.46pm on Sept 21 in front of a bank in Indahpura here.

       He was charged under Section 507 of the Penal Code, which was read together with Section 506, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in jail or a fine.

       In mitigation, Teng asked to be given a fine instead of jail time as he suffers from a back injury, which requires regular medical check-ups.

       However, Sharifah Maleeha sentenced him to five months' imprisonment from the date of his arrest on Oct 31.

       Deputy Public Prosecutor Edlynn Wong prosecuted the case while lawyer Hidayah Asri represented the accused.

       On Tuesday, Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay had said that four members of an illegal moneylending syndicate, including a man believed to be responsible for making threats towards Chua and his family, had been arrested by the police.

       He said the suspects were arrested between Oct 27 and 31 in separate raids around Johor Baru following a report lodged by Chua on Oct 7 after his house was splashed by red paint and he was threatened for helping those involved in 'Ah Long' cases.