Married couple, architect charged with cheating contractor

PETALING JAYA: A married couple and an architect were charged in the sessions court here today with cheating a contractor of more than RM1 million in investment in a expressway project which did not exist.
Mohd Nasir Abu Hassan, 53, a project manager of a construction company, his wife Nazhatul Syahira Sanusi, 26, a director of the same company, and the architect, Wan Anizam Wan Ishak, 52, who is a friend of the couple, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Judge Datin Fadzlin Suraya Mohd Suah.
They were jointly charged with cheating S. R. Letchumanan, 47, by deceiving the victim into investing in an expressway project, which was allegedly awarded to them, but actually did not exist.
This prompted Letchumanan into handing them RM1,060,000.
The three individuals were charged with committing the offence at Wisma Thiviya Builders Sdn Bhd, Jalan SP 2/4, Taman Serdang Perdana, Seri Kembangan, here in September 2016.
They were charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 24 of the same law, and face imprisonment for up to 10 years with whipping, and are also liable to fine, if found guilty.
The couple, who have three children, and the architect, who also has three children, were allowed bail of RM20,000 each, and also ordered to surrender their passports to the court and report themselves at the nearest police station every month pending disposal of the case.
Deputy public prosecutor Ashyraf Ashy'ari Kamaruzaman prosecuted, while lawyers Lily Chua and M. Manoharan represented the couple and Datuk Suraj Singh, represented Wan Anizam.
The court set June 6 for mention and submission of documents. — Bernama