Six, including underage girl, admit to online scam charges

SIX individuals, among them a teenage girl and two foreign nationals, pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court here to conspiring in an online fraud scheme carried out on 13 May.

Sinar Harian cited that the accused—Cham Chew Lian, 22; a 17-year-old girl; Leong Wei Yao, 28; Ang Meng Foo, 25; along with Reasmeykakada, 22, from Cambodia and Deng Fei, 38, from China—entered separate pleas before Magistrate Mohd Harith Mohd Mazlan after charges were read out in court.

According to the charge, all six were alleged to have conspired to commit online fraud at Residensi Sky condominium in Alma around 5pm on 13 May.

The offence is punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 120B of the same Act, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of six months or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Anis Suhada Rosli led the prosecution, while all accused were represented by Anas Hakimi and Husna Ridzuan from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK).

During proceedings, the prosecution requested that the court impose a fitting sentence in light of the severity of the crime.

The defence, however, appealed for the minimum fine to be imposed, citing the fact that this was the first offence for all involved, most of whom are unemployed and have no steady income.

The court imposed a fine of RM8,000 on five of the accused, with a six-month prison term in default of payment.

For the underage defendant, the court granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), with re-prosecution to be pursued under child protection legislation.

Earlier, Sinar Harian reported that the Seberang Perai Tengah District Police’s Criminal Investigation Division, in collaboration with the Penang Commercial Crime Investigation Department, successfully dismantled an online scam syndicate offering fake prizes through the Telegram messaging app.

A special operation conducted at the Alma condominium in Bukit Mertajam on Tuesday led to the arrest of six suspects—three local men and one local woman aged between 18 and 28, as well as a male and female foreign national aged between 23 and 38.

The four locals told police they had been employed as call centre operators for just a week, earning RM2,600 per month. - May 16, 2025