KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — The manager of a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) was fined RM30,000 by the Sessions Court today after being found guilty of submitting false lodging and subsistence allowance claims totalling RM1,855.
Judge Rosli Ahmad handed down the sentence to Norhayati Hamzah, 54, after finding that the prosecution had successfully proven the case against her at the end of the defence case.
"The court decided that the accused was guilty of the alternative charge under Section 471 of the Penal Code and sentenced her to a fine of RM30,000, in default (of payment), six months' imprisonment," he said.
However, the court allowed the application by lawyer S. Preakas, representing Norhayati, to postpone the payment of the fine pending an appeal to the High Court, subject to the condition that the bail be increased from RM8,000 to RM10,000 with one surety. The accused's passport is to be surrendered to the court, and she is to be blacklisted from travelling overseas.
According to the alternative charge, the accused was charged for using four forged documents containing claims for lodging and subsistence allowances between December 22, 2019, and February 5, 2020, totalling RM1,855, which were submitted to her company's audit and compliance department manager Mohd Kamal Zulkawi.
The offence was committed at the TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd office in Bangunan Penjanaan, Jalan Bangsar, between January 17 and February 26, 2020.
The charge was framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 465 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years, or a fine, or both.
Earlier, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Prosecuting Officer Mohd Aliff Shaharuzaman requested a severe sentence, taking into account the seriousness of Norhayati's offence.
However, Preakas requested that the court impose a fine, considering that his client has six children and that this was the accused's first offence.
A total of 17 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, including the accused, testified during the trial, which began in 2022.
