KUALA LUMPUR: A non-governmental organisation (NGO) chairman pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to a charge of dishonestly misappropriating RM207,000 in funds meant for humanitarian missions in Palestine and several other countries.
Mohd Hakim Mohd Nor, 39, the chairman of Pertubuhan Kebajikan Serantau Muslim, entered his plea before judge Azrul Darus.
He is accused of misappropriating funds intended for foreign humanitarian missions carried out in cooperation with NGOs in Myanmar, Yemen, Syria and Palestine at a bank in Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin on Dec 27, 2019.
The charge, framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of between six months and five years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Asmaa’ Zamri requested bail be set at RM50,000 with one surety.
She also sought additional conditions requiring the accused to report to the MACC office monthly, surrender his passport to the court and refrain from harassing prosecution witnesses.
In the bail application, defence lawyer Azizzul Shariman Mat Yusoff described the proposed bail sum as excessive and urged the court to reduce it to RM10,000.
He said his client had been remanded for 12 days for investigations in June last year and had voluntarily appeared in court to face the charge.
“This shows there is a low risk of him absconding or failing to attend trial proceedings,” he said.
Azizzul said Hakim will face additional charges involving larger sums at the Melaka Sessions Court tomorrow and at the Ipoh Sessions Court the following day.
He requested that bail be set at an affordable amount, adding that the proposed bailor would be the client’s wife, who is self-employed and earns RM1,500 monthly.
“He has no objection to the additional conditions and requests that he be allowed to report to the MACC office in Melaka, where he resides,” he said.
Azrul set bail at RM10,000 with one surety and allowed the prosecution’s additional conditions.
The judge set March 11 for mention.
Sources said Hakim is expected to face over a dozen charges, including money laundering, at the Melaka and Ipoh Sessions Courts.
Yesterday, the MACC had said that its Selangor counterpart arrested five individuals, including the NGO chairman, secretary, treasurer and finance officer in an operations codenamed Op Serantau.
The anti-graft agency said the arrest came after the discovery of alleged misappropriation of approximately RM26 million in public donations by the NGO.
It was reported that the modus operandi is said to be similar to another NGO’s case where funds were transferred into personal accounts and used to purchase jewellery, cars, land, houses, and cryptocurrency.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
