KUALA LUMPUR: A Datuk whose daughter is due to be married today was hauled up to the Sessions Court yesterday to face two cheating charges involving RM922,000.
He is expected to be charged next Wednesday with another 363 counts of cheating, which involved seven financial institutions and RM35 million.
Datuk Ng Kim Weng, 57, and his former colleague Lim Geok Lan, 50, were jointly charged with cheating Bank Bumiputra-Commerce Bhd officers by inducing them to believe that the invoices and delivery orders provided for the application of banker’s acceptance services dated Jan 31, 2005, were genuine.
The two allegedly induced the officers to approve a RM344,000 loan for ABI Malaysia Sdn Bhd at the bank’s Trade Services Centre in Jalan Tun Perak, between Jan 28 and 31, 2005.
Ng was the former managing director of ABI Malaysia, while Lim was a former director. ABI Malaysia is a subsidiary of Polymate Holdings Bhd — a public-listed company — in which Ng was the former group managing director.
Ng was also charged separately with inducing the bank officers to approve a loan of RM321,000 to ABI Malaysia Sdn Bhd, on Dec 7, 2004, while Lim allegedly committed a similar offence involving RM257,000 on Feb 25, 2005.
The duo also faced alternative charges of using forged documents as genuine in committing the offences.
Both Ng and Lim claimed trial to all charges.
Deputy public prosecutor Faridah Mohd Salleh proposed RM1.5 million bail each with one surety and asked for their passports to be surrendered to the court.
She urged the court to consider the seriousness of the offences, which caused the banks to lose a huge sum of money.
Ng’s counsel Harpal Singh pleaded for a lower amount, saying that Ng’s wife could only raise RM200,000.
“My client is pleading to the court to allow him to attend his daughter’s wedding,” he said.
The court was also informed that Ng had surrendered his passport in 2007, when the Securities Commission charged him with submitting false information to Bursa Malaysia.
Lim’s lawyer Jasvinjit Singh said Lim’s niece could only raise RM50,000.
“Lim is currently working as an insurance agent and earns about RM5,000 monthly.”
Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah granted Ng RM200,000 bail with one surety and Lim RM100,000 bail with one surety. They posted bail.
She also ordered Lim to surrender her passport to the court.
“This is only an interim figure. I will reconsider the figure when the remaining charges are read to them,” said Komathy, who fixed Jan 21 for the other charges to be read.