Kota Kinabalu: A 40-year-old man was fined RM10,000 or jailed 12 months by the Sessions Court here on Wednesday for allowing another person to control his bank account without lawful authority.
Tan Pang Tuan pleaded guilty before Judge Monica Linsua to the offence committed between May 13 and Oct 18, 2025, at Maybank’s Kolombong branch in Inanam.
The court heard that Tan was the registered owner of the Maybank account, which was used for transactions involving payments by a complainant to an unlicensed moneylender.
Following information received, Tan was arrested by police on June 30 this year.
Investigations found that Tan was the account holder of the bank account used for the complainant’s payments to the unlicensed moneylending party.
Tan, represented by counsel Dominic Chew, pleaded for leniency, saying it was his first offence, he had family commitments and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, submitting that Tan had voluntarily surrendered control of his ATM card to another person.
Fazriel said the ATM card was used to facilitate the offence and that the complainant had suffered financial loss and inconvenience.
He also submitted that offences involving the unauthorised use of ATM cards were increasingly prevalent and warranted a strong deterrent to protect the public from similar offences.
He said the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating value of Tan’s guilty plea.
The charge under Section 424B of the Penal Code carries a fine of between RM10,000 and RM100,000, or a jail term of between one and 10 years, or both, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to a similar offence.
Melvon Joseri admitted to the charge before Judge Marlina Ibrahim.
He was charged with allowing another person to control his Maybank payment instrument without lawful authority on Oct 2, 2025, at the Beaufort Water Department.
DPP Fazriel applied for another date for the prosecution to tender the facts and for sentencing.
The court fixed Sept 8 for sentencing and ordered Melvon, who was unrepresented, to be remanded further as he is also facing a drug-related charge.
