Kuching teen gets good behaviour bond for unlawfully having RM7,860 in bank account

KUCHING (Jan 18): The Magistrates’ Court here today put a 19-year-old teenager on a one-year good behaviour bond for unlawful possession of RM7,860 in her bank account.

Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali convicted the girl on her own guilty plea to a charge framed under Section 37(1) of the Sarawak Minor Offences Ordinance 1958.

The Section provides for imprisonment of up to three months or a maximum fine of RM500.

Syarifah Fatimah sentenced the girl after examining the case facts together with a social report presented by the Welfare Department.

According to the charge, the teenager committed the offence at a bank on Aug 8 last year.

Based on the facts of the case, a 23-year-old man wanted to apply for a personal loan from ‘Web Ringgit Plus’.

He was told to fill in his personal details, which includes his full name, email address, and phone number.

The complainant was soon contacted by an unknown number and the caller introduced himself as ‘Jard’ from a bank with an offer of an RM30,000 personal loan.

The complainant, who was interested in the offer, was then told to transfer RM7,860 to a bank account under the 19-year-old girl’s name.

However, despite the successful funds transfer, the complainant did not receive the loan and thus filed a police report.

It is understood that the teenager had rented out her ATM card to an unknown individual for an undisclosed sum of money.

Insp Ammarsoffi Yusoff prosecuted the case, while the teenager was unrepresented by legal counsel.