KUALA LUMPUR: A 35-year-old plantation employee pleaded not guilty today at the sessions court here to disposing of proceeds totalling RM1.05 million from money laundering activities through his personal savings account, three years ago.
R. Poobalan, 35, made his plea in response to the charge under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, with the relevant offence carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of not less than RM5 million or five times the sum of the illegal proceeds.
The father of three is alleged to have committed the offence at Public Bank Berhad’s Sungai Pelek branch in Selangor between Dec 7, 2016, and Feb 25, 2017.
Judge Hasbullah Adam allowed Poobalan bail of RM50,000 with one surety and impounded his passport, while setting July 16 for the next mention of the case.
Lawyer Sritharan C. Nadarajan, who represented Poobalan, had earlier asked for a lower bail, saying that the accused was suffering from a stroke and had to support his own cost of treatment, while facing four other charges comprising one each at the magistrate’s court in Petaling Jaya and the sessions court in Seremban, as well as two at the Kuala Lumpur sessions court.
Deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Liyana Shahrir appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama
