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TAWAU: A total of 80 individuals, including 78 Chinese nationals, were charged in the Magistrate’s Court here on Wednesday with jointly engaging in a criminal conspiracy to deceive victims in an insurance scam last week.

All the accused, including four women aged between 17 and 46, claimed trial after the charge was read in Mandarin before Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin.

According to the charge, the group, which also includes one Laotian and one Myanmar national, allegedly conspired to deceive victims through phone and video calls while impersonating police officers from China, with the offence said to have been committed at a premises in the district at 9.25pm on April 7, 2026.

The offence, framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 120B(2) read together with Section 34 of the same Code, carries a penalty of up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.

The court allowed bail at RM3,500 each with two local sureties, while 23 of the accused were separately charged in the Sessions Court with immigration offences committed at the same time, where they pleaded not guilty and were denied bail, with the case fixed for mention on May 25.