Kota Kinabalu: A 49-year-old salesman from Penang was sentenced to three years in prison by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to indirectly dealing with an unlawful transaction involving RM1,000 in his bank account.
Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain handed down the sentence on Tan Joo Hong, who committed the offence under Section 424C(1) of the Penal Code at Taman Chempaka along Jalan Tuaran Bypass on May 1.
Tan, who was unrepresented, appealed for leniency during mitigation, stating that he had a family to support.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Francis urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, highlighting that the provision was enacted to combat the rampant rise of mule account activities used by criminal syndicates.
The court heard that Tan's bank account received funds from a victim who was threatened in an unlicensed moneylending scheme, with Tan failing to explain how the money entered his account.
