Kota Kinabalu: A 40-year-old man was jailed four years for conducting unlawful transactions involving RM15,000 through his personal bank account.
Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain meted out the sentence on Zainuddin Jailani after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
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Zainuddin was found to have been directly involved in an unlawful transaction involving money using his bank account at a financial institution in Inanam near here on April 9, 2025.
The offence under Section 424C(1) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of between three and 10 years, or a fine of between RM10,000 and RM150,000, or both, upon conviction.
The court ordered Zainuddin to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest.
In mitigation, Zainuddin, who was unrepresented, pleaded for leniency, saying he has three children to support.
He also said he had lent his bank account to a friend who did not have one, as the friend’s family needed to receive money.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Abdul Kadir urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, describing the offence as serious.
The court heard that the complainant had seen an advertisement for a used car on Facebook and contacted a person known as Wan, as he was interested in purchasing a car priced at RM17,400. After negotiations, the price was reduced to RM15,000.
Wan asked the complainant to go to a showroom in Inanam to test-drive the car, but he was told to deal directly with Wan regarding payment.
The complainant then made two transactions into a bank account under the name of Zainuddin Jailani.
After making the payment, the complainant was informed that the car did not belong to Wan and that its actual price was RM32,000.
To recover his money, he was asked to pay an additional RM12,000.
The complainant realised he had been cheated when Wan stopped answering his calls and subsequently lodged a police report to block the bank account.
Further investigations revealed that the bank account used by Wan belonged to Zainuddin.
