Fraud offences climbs to over RM1m for unemployed Ipoh man

IPOH: A 50–year–old unemployed man who is facing seven charges of making fraudulent GST refund claims with his wife, was slapped with another five similar charges at the Sessions Court yesterday.
On Aug 30, Loo Peng Wah from Taman Pengkalan Pertama and his wife Ng Lee Foon, 45, claimed trial to the offences amounting to RM745,838.
For the latest charges amounting to RM363,769, Loo claimed trial before judge Murtazadi Amran.
He is alleged to have made statements as a registered person under the act in the GST-03 tax returns, with the intention of obtaining credit for tax input against tax output at the state Customs headquarters at Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, between December 2015 and April 2016.
Loo was charged under Section 89(1)(b) of the GST Act 2014 for submitting false claims to the Customs Department.
If found guilty, he could be fined between 10 and 20 times the amount of tax involved, or jailed for up to five years or both, for each offence.
Customs Department prosecuting officer Mohd Safwan Fathy Yahaya asked the court to impose bail of RM60,000 for each of the five charges.
"The high bail is neccessary as the amount involved in the case is a big sum," he added.
Counsel Manjeet Kaur asked the court to maintain the previous bail amount of RM140,000.
"My client is also suffering from high blood pressure and depression after he was remanded for 20 days in a police lock–up in Ipoh," she added.
Murtazadi fixed bail at RM20,000 for each of the five charges with one surety. He also ordered the accused to report to the nearest Customs office on the first week of every month.
The case will re–mentioned on Oct 12.