Former company director charged with accepting more than RM500k illegal deposit

PETALING JAYA: A former director of a gold investment company pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here today on two counts of accepting illegal deposits amounting to more than RM500,000 from two investors four years ago.
He was also charged with two counts of misappropriating money amounting to RM666,700 in 2014.
In the first case, Datuk Yap Yee Hoo, 62, made the plea after the charge was read out before Judge Mabel S. Muttiah.
Yap who appeared in court nodded after the charge was read out and said, "understand ... plead not guilty". Also present in the public gallery was his daughter who was the surety.
On the first two charges, Yap was charged with receiving a deposit from lawyer Tan Cheng Tat, 51, and businesswoman Mastura Abdul Muthalib, 53, each amounting to RM446,700 and RM70,000 without a valid licence at Level 1-2, Wisma BU8, No 11, Lebuh Bandar Utama, here between July and November 2014.
Yap was charged under Section 137 (1) of the Financial Services Act 2013 and could be sentenced under Section 137(2) of the same act which provides for a jail term of up to 10 years or fine up to RM50 million or both, upon conviction.
Later, Yap also pleaded not guilty at two separate magistrate's court here on two charges of misappropriating funds amounting to RM666,700.
He was charged before Magistrate Nor Ariffin Hisham with misappropriating gold bars worth RM220,000 for investment purposes at the premises of Royal Gold Sdn Bhd at No 111 & 112, Blok F, Phileo Damansara, Jalan 16/11 Off Jalan Damansara, here on April 15, 2014.
Meanwhile, before Magistrate Nurshahira Abdul Salim, Yap was charged as director of Royal Gold Sdn Bhd with misappropriating money from the company's clients amounting to RM446,700 for other purposes at Public Bank's Taipan branch in Subang Jaya between July and November 2014.
Both offences were made under Section 403 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail sentence of up to five years and caning as well as fine, upon conviction.
Yap was allowed bail of RM75,000 for all charges with one surety and an additional condition that his passport be handed over to the court and he has to report to the nearest police station once every month. March 26 was fixed for a re-mention of the cases.
Prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Abu Arsalnaa Zainal Abidin while the accused was represented by counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan. — Bernama