17/05/2026

NATIONAL 6 theSun on Sunday MAY 17, 2026

Former court driver claims trial to intimidation charge

KUALA LUMPUR: A former driver of a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate’s Court to a charge of criminal intimidation against the judge last week. Mohd Fareez Mohd Zin, 39, was accused of threatening High Court Judge Gan Techiong, 64, with the intention of causing fear and alarm. The alleged offence took place at the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Civil) in Jalan Duta at 1.30pm on May 8. The charge was framed under Section 506 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years, a fine, or both. If the threat involves causing death or grievous hurt, the offence carries a prison sentence of up to seven years, a fine, or both upon conviction. DPP Amritpreet Kaur Randhawa did not offer bail as the offence is non-bailable. Lawyer for the accused Karen Kaur applied for bail, saying her client, who is married with three children, was not a flight risk. However, Amritpreet objected to the application on grounds of ensuring the safety of the judge. “If the court wishes to grant bail, I request a high bail amount with additional conditions, including that the accused

Bail denied after accused allegedly threatened High Court judge at Jalan Duta court complex last week does not interfere with prosecution witnesses and reports to a police station,” she said. Magistrate Farah Nabihah Muhammad Dan denied bail after taking into account the non-bailable nature of the offence and the prosecution’s objection, and fixed Aug 11 for mention. In the same court, Mohd Fareez also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of having amphetamine and

methamphetamine in his system, based on a urine test. The alleged offence took place in a toilet at the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department office at the Sentul district police headquarters at 11.10pm on May 12, Bernama reported. He was charged under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides a maximum fine of RM5,000, imprisonment of up to two years and supervised release of between two and three years upon conviction. Amritpreet proposed bail of RM4,000 in one surety, while Karen requested a lower amount on grounds that her client is currently unemployed. The court allowed bail of RM2,000 in one surety and also fixed Aug 11 for mention.

Two senior citizens lose RM2.7 million in online scams GEORGE TOWN: Two senior citizens, including a former company director, lost almost RM2.7 million after falling victim to separate online investment scams promising lucrative returns through fake investment platforms. Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the first case involved a 62-year-old machinery attendant, who lost RM1.29 million after being deceived in an online investment scheme known as “Global Finance Trends XA”. “The Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Central Seberang Perai district police headquarters received a report from the victim on Thursday. “The victim became interested in the scheme after seeing an investment advertisement on Facebook in March before being contacted by a female individual via WhatsApp,” Azizee said in a statement. The person promoted investments allegedly linked to a China-based company known as Citic Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd and promised high returns. Initially, the woman only provided local investment tips and the profit predictions were accurate, gaining the victim’s trust in the scheme. Azizee said the victim was then instructed to download the “Global Finance Trends XA” app for registration and investment transactions, before making 28 payments amounting to RM1.39 million into a CIMB bank account belonging to the company between April 6 and May 4. He said the victim only received returns of RM103,000 before realising he had been cheated after failing to withdraw RM1 million in profits displayed on the app. In a separate case, Azizee said a 72-year-old female former company director lost RM1.4 million after being duped in an online investment syndicate using the name “Shanghai Futures Exchange”. “The victim became acquainted with a foreign man through Facebook in July 2023 before continuing communication via the LINE app. The man also sent a copy of his identity card to convince the victim he was genuine before offering an investment scheme promising high profits within a short period. “The woman was then instructed to access a website through a link provided for membership registration and investment purposes. Between Nov 27 last year and Feb 5, the victim carried out 53 transactions amounting to RM1.4 million into 30 different bank accounts, including 26 individual accounts and four company accounts,” he said. According to Azizee, the victim only realised she had been scammed after failing to withdraw RM30 million in profits displayed on the app used for the transactions, with her account blocked while the man became unreachable. He said investigations are ongoing and both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. – Bernama

The suspect is believed to have started collecting wildlife parts during his service as a forest ranger. – PIC COURTESY OF PDRM FACEBOOK PAGE

Former ranger held over RM580,000 wildlife parts haul KUALA LUMPUR: A former forest ranger was arrested after allegedly possessing various protected wildlife parts worth an estimated RM589,000 during a raid in Tuaran, Sabah. Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department Wildlife Crime collecting wildlife parts during his service as a forest ranger in 1986, before opting for voluntary retirement in 2019 due to health reasons. police led to the seizure of various wildlife parts on Wednesday, including 16 canine teeth suspected to be from wild boars, nine believed to be from tigers and 10 suspected to be from bears. Authorities also seized various edible bird’s nest products of different weights and 13 porcupine bezoar stones.

The case is being investigated under Sections 41(1) and 41(2) of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for possessing, hunting or selling protected wildlife. “If convicted, the suspect can be fined between RM50,000 and RM250,000 or jailed for up to five years under Section 41(1). “For offences under Section 41(2), offenders can be fined between RM30,000 and RM100,000 or jailed for up to three years,” he added. The suspect and the seized items were taken to the Tuaran district police headquarters before being handed to the Sabah Wildlife Department for further action. Meanwhile in Kota Kinabalu, a local man was arrested for allegedly selling wildlife parts believed to be from protected species during Ops Antique at a business premises. In a statement, the Sabah Wildlife Department said the joint operation with

Bureau/Special Intelligence Investigation commander Datuk Mohd Zaki Ashar said the 61-year-old man was detained at about 7.15am on Friday in an operation conducted jointly with the Sabah Wildlife Department. He said inspections found 55 pairs of antlers believed to be from deer, three rhino horns, 330 pangolin scales, as well as carcasses and skins of pythons, hornbill skulls, elephant bones and tusks, sambar deer antlers, bear skulls and several other wildlife parts. Mohd Zaki said in a statement preliminary investigations found the suspect had allegedly obtained the wildlife parts by purchasing them from villagers in Sabah’s interior, while some were kept as part of a personal collection. The suspect is believed to have started

The suspect was detained to assist investigations under Sections 41(1) and 41(2) of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 for possessing, keeping and displaying wildlife parts without valid authorisation. Under the enactment, offenders may face fines of between RM30,000 and RM100,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both, upon conviction. For offences involving totally protected species, penalties include fines of between RM50,000 and RM250,000 and imprisonment of between one and five years. The integrated operation also involved the Bukit Aman Wildlife Crime Bureau/Special Intelligence Investigation division. – Bernama