Pahang princess impersonator gets three years' jail for money laundering

A woman suffering from dwarfism who claimed she was a Pahang princess was sentenced to another three years' jail by the Ampang Sessions Court here today for each of the eight counts of money laundering amounting to RM2,841,690.

Last March, the woman was sentenced to three years' jail after pleading guilty to 53 counts of cheating cosmetic surgeon Datuk Dr Abdul Jalil Jidon of RM1.203 million.

Judge Mohamad Kamil Nizam handed down the sentence on Rohaida Yahil, 41, a former insurance executive, after she changed her plea to guilty to the money laundering charges during the proceedings yesterday.

He also ordered the woman to serve the jail sentence concurrently after she completed her jail sentence for cheating.

On the first count, Rohaida was charged with receiving RM3,400 transferred into her CIMB Bank account from a Maybank account belonging to Khuzairiah Abdul Latiff, 40.

On the second to eighth counts, she was charged with receiving a total of RM2,838,290 which was deposited into her CIMB Bank account from Khuzairiah and Mohd Ghazali Othman, 45, through 284 transactions.

All the offences were committed at the CIMB Ampang Point branch, No.23, Jalan Mamanda 7/1, Wisma Ampang Triangle, Jalan Ampang here between Aug 28, 2014 and April 22, 2016.

In mitigation, counsel Shamsul Sulaiman representing Rohaida appealed for minimum sentence on the grounds that his client had regretted her actions.

Deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Liyana Shahrir, however, pressed for a deterrent sentence taking into account the increasing number of money laundering cases and the accused had caused huge losses while using names of dignitaries including the Sultan of Pahang.

-- BERNAMA