Friday December 24, 2010

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/24/courts/7679308&sec=courts

KUALA LUMPUR: A Sessions Court judge here rebuked two unlicensed land brokers over their ill-gotten gains of over RM4mil, saying their act could undermine public confidence in the authorities.

In passing sentence against Gan Kiat Bend, 52, and Ismail Husin, 58, judge Jagjit Singh Bant Singh said: “The ill-gotten monies that had been laundered by both the accused is of a huge magnitude and not a single sen was recovered from them.

“These acts would undermine public confidence in the authorities handling land matters and also investors’ confidence.

“No registered land owner would feel safe if these offences are not adequately and effectively punished.”

The first accused, Gan, was charged with four counts of money laundering involving a total sum of RM2.5mil over two plots of land in Selangor.

He was accused of committing the offences at Standard Chartered Bank (M) Bhd in Jalan Ampang here, between Nov 19, 2003 and Jan 9, 2004.

The second accused, Ismail, was slapped with 12 counts of money laundering involving a total sum of RM2.85mil over the same two plots of land, at the same time and place.

According to the facts of the case, Gan and several others involved in forging land titles and using them as genuine paid from the profits of the sales transaction of the two pieces of land.

The judge sentenced Gan to nine years and six months’ jail and Ismail to 18 years and three months’ jail when they were found guilty of the multiple counts of money laundering.

However, the two will only serve five years each in prison, as Jagjit Singh ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently.

In passing sentence, the judge also fined each man RM1mil and imposed an additional penalty of RM2.43mil on Gan and RM2.33mil on Ismail, which have to be paid up within a year in default of a further jail term.

The offences committed were “very serious”, the judge ruled after finding that the defence had failed to create doubt in the prosecution’s case against the two.

Prosecuting was deputy public prosecutor Hazril Harun, while lawyer Zeffree Zainudin stood for both Gan and Ismail.

Zeffree applied for a stay of execution of the sentence, pending appeal by the two men at the High Court, which was granted.