Singaporean claims trial to taking RM230m in illegal deposits

KUALA LUMPUR: A Singaporean founder of an investment company pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to two counts of accepting deposits amounting to RM230 million without a valid licence between 2006 and 2008.
Phang Wah, 58, who was convicted for criminal breach of trust and imprisoned since 2011, was just released from Singapore prison yesterday. He, however, pleaded not guilty to both the charges before judge Hasbullah Adam.
According to the first charge, Phang as the founder of Sunshine Empire Sdn Bhd and who assisted in managing the company, was charged under Section 6 (4) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 for accepting deposits from depositors without a valid licence.
He allegedly committed the offence at Block A-11-1 (Level 13) Penthouse, Menara Uncang Emas, 85 Jalan Loke Yew, here, between July 14 and Oct 17, 2006.
On the second count, he was charged with committing a similar offence at the KUB.Com Building, 12, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, here, between Oct 18, 2006 and April 4, 2008.
The charges under Section 25 (1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (Act 372) read together with Section 106 (1) and punishable under Section 103 (1) (a) of the same act carries a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine not exceeding RM10 million, or both, upon conviction.
Earlier, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) prosecuting officer Alvin Ong Heng Kiat proposed bail of RM1.5 million with two local sureties for each charge, as the amount of illegal deposit involved was huge.
"In this case, the deposit money received totalled RM230 million," he said.
Phang's counsel, Shah Rizal Abdul Manan pleaded for minimum bail, saying his client had lost his source of income while serving his prison term and he also faced health issues with regard to hearing and eyesight.
The court granted RM1 million bail for each charge with two local sureties residing in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, with an additional condition that Phang surrender his travel documents to the court.
The court also ordered Phang to report to the nearest police station once a month and fixed Jan 26 for case mention. — Bernama