TAWAU: Eighty people – 78 of them Chinese nationals – were charged in the Magistrate’s Court, Wednesday, with allegedly engaging in a criminal conspiracy to deceive victims in an insurance scam.
All, including four women aged between 17 and 46, understood the charges but pleaded not guilty when read in Mandarin before Magistrate Dayang Aidaku Amira Aminuddin.
All the accused, including one Laotian and one Myanmar national, were alleged to have conspired to deceive victims in an insurance scam through phone and video calls, impersonating police officers from China.
The offence was allegedly committed at a premises in the district at about 9.25pm on April 7.
They were charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 120B(2) of the same Code, read together with Section 34.
The offence carries imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Magistrate Dayang Aidaku set bail at RM3,500 each with two local sureties for all the accused.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Shearil Aizad Murnizam applied for no bail to be granted, citing concerns over the difficulty of ensuring the accused’s attendance in court due to the risk of them fleeing Malaysia.
He said no return tickets or travel itineraries were presented, raising doubts about the actual purpose of their entry into the country.
He added that Immigration records showed most of the accused had been in Malaysia since February 2026 and did not possess return tickets.
They also had no employment or ties with any local company, indicating a lack of strong local connections.
“Although local sureties were proposed, their reliability is questionable and insufficient to guarantee the accused’s presence in court. Additionally, some passports are due to expire in May, posing a risk of overstaying,” he said.
However, a lawyer representing seven of the accused applied for bail on the grounds that the offence is bailable. Similar appeals were made individually by the accused when addressed by the court.
The prosecution was assisted by Tawau District Police Headquarters prosecuting officer ASP Jeffrey Kadison, while seven of the accused were represented by lawyer Vivian Thien. The remaining accused were unrepresented.
Meanwhile, 23 of the 80 accused, including two women, were also charged in the Sessions Court for Immigration offences committed at the same date and time.
Twenty-two were charged under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for entering the country without valid identification documents, while another was charged under Section 15(1)(c) (Amendment 2002) of the same Act for overstaying.
They indicated that they understood the charges and pleaded not guilty before Judge Ahmad Faizadh Yahaya, who then fixed 25 May, 2026, for case mention. No bail was granted.
ASP Jeffrey appeared for the prosecution on behalf of the DPP, while all accused in the Sessions Court were unrepresented.
