Two Men Charged With Cheating, Using Forged Documents to Reduce Cosmetics Import Tax

GEORGE TOWN: Two men were charged in the Sessions Court here today in two separate cases involving cheating and the use of forged documents related to the declaration of imported cosmetic products belonging to a company.

Zul Akmal Ab Suhukor, 52, was charged with deceiving a cosmetics company manager, a 26-year-old local man, by inducing him to transfer RM13,000 into the bank account of his company, First Global Freight & Logistics.

The money was purportedly intended as payment to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) to reduce taxes on imported cosmetic products.

The offence was allegedly committed between August and September 2024 at an office in Menara Northam, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, here.

The charge was framed under Section 415(b) of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 417 of the same Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, a fine, or both.

The prosecution was conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Atikah Ab Rashid, who proposed bail of RM30,000 with the additional condition that the accused surrender his passport to the court until the conclusion of the trial.

However, lawyer K Mahendran, assisted by M Sharmila, who represented the accused, requested a lower bail amount on the grounds that his client worked as an office manager earning RM2,500 a month and had three children and an unemployed wife to support.

Judge Irwan Suainbon subsequently allowed the accused bail of RM10,000 with one surety, subject to the additional condition that he surrender his passport to the court.

Meanwhile, in a separate case before the same judge, Sarudin Daud, 53, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of using forged documents related to the declaration of the company’s imported cosmetic products on September 12, 2024, at the same location.

He was accused of using a forged document as genuine, namely an Imported Goods Declaration Form dated September 12, 2024, in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s Customs Information System.

The document allegedly contained a false declaration that resulted in the tax amount being reduced from RM55,632.19 to RM25,850.15.

The charge was brought under Section 471 of the Penal Code and is punishable under Section 465 of the same Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

The court subsequently granted Sarudin bail of RM10,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport after his lawyer, Mahendran, informed the court that the accused worked as an executive officer earning RM1,800 a month, had three children and was the family’s main breadwinner.

Both cases were fixed for mention on December 14.