Three individuals plead not guilty to submitting false claims for incentives under Penjana Kerjaya programme

MELAKA: A proprietress and two company managers pleaded not guilty at the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court here today to charges of submitting false claims to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for incentives under the Penjana Kerjaya 2.0 programme totalling RM147,400.

Nurul Ain was charged with committing the offence through one Muhammad Fauzi Abdul Latif by submitting the Employee Verification Form of the Employment Incentive Programme that contains false information for incentive claims amounting to RM35,900 to a Socso officer.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Melaka Socso Office, Jalan Persekutuan MITC, Ayer Keroh, on June 3, 2021.

As for Asmida Shahfika, she was charged with a similar offence by submitting false claims amounting to RM36,900 at the same place on May 19, 2021.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Hafizi was charged with two counts of committing a similar offence, involving claims amounting to RM54,100 and RM20,500 and allegedly committed at the same place on May 26, 2021 and June 18, 2021, respectively.

All of them were alleged to have submitted names of workers who were not under the employment of their respective companies in the Employee Verification Form for the Employment Incentive under the Penjana Kerjaya 2.0 programme.

The charges were framed under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and punishable under Section 24 (2) of the same law which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine not less than five times the value of the subject matter of the offence or RM10,000 whichever is higher, if convicted.

Judge Elesabet allowed Nurul Ain and Asmida Shahfika bail of RM8,000 each, and RM20,000 for Muhammad Haifizi and also ordered them to surrender their passports to the court and report themselves at the nearest MACC office on the first week of every month.

The court set Feb 16 for mention of their cases.

Prosecuting officers from MACC Ikhwan Zaudi Nordin and Mohd Yasri Yahya prosecuted, while Nurul Ain and Asmida Shahfika were represented by lawyer Haifzah San.

Muhammad Hafizi was unrepresented.

-- BERNAMA