Couple with children jailed for CBT

SHAH ALAM: The parents of three children must spend time in prison after pleading guilty to two amended CBT charges in Sessions Court here today.
Before sentencing, Sessions Court judge Noradidah Ahmad said: "Although the accused are a married couple and have three children, public interest should be considered in passing sentence.
"The family of the accused might also have enjoyed the gains from the crime committed," she added.
The judge sentenced Mai Shahira Ishak, 37, to 16 years' jail and her husband Saidina Azzuanira Saidina Othman, 43, to 16 months' jail after both pleaded guilty criminal breach of trust involving RM643,897.
Mai Shahira received seven years' jail for the first offence and nine years for the second offence, with both sentences ordered to run concurrently from today.
Saidina Azzuanira, meanwhile, was sentenced to six months' jail on the first charge and 10 months on the second, with both sentences also to run concurrently but from his date of arrest, May 14, this year.
On the first amended charge, Mai Shahira, a former executive with logistics company UTI Worldwide (M) Sdn Bhd, was accused of committing CBT by making a payment via a cheque for RM611,857 to Mai Trading, owned by her husband who had no connection with UTI Worldwide, where she worked.
On the second amended charge, she was alleged to have committed the same offence via a cheque for RM32,040.
The first offence was committed between Jan 4 and Dec 28, 2012 and the second offence between Jan 2 and 30, 2013 at No. 43-02-1, Lorong Batu Nilam 1A, Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang.
Saidina Azzuanira, a former personal driver, was charged with two counts of helping to transfer the sums of RM611,857 and RM32,040 to his own company's account at the Port Klang branch of Hong Leong Bank on the same respective dates.
When passing sentence, judge Noradidah said the two accused only made their guilty plea after 14 days of hearing of the case where four witnesses were called and 500 exhibits involving the company's accounts were tendered.
She said the company where the first accused worked suffered losses due to the CBT committed and had to wait so long to get back the money stolen although Mai Shahira was declared a bankrupt.
Earlier, counsel Daniel Amir in pleading for a lenient sentence on the two accused, said the court should consider their guilty plea and that they had three children aged between seven and 14 years to fend for.
However, DPP Syuhada Alwi urged the court to pass appropriate sentence as a deterrent for others due to increasing white collar crime. – Bernama