Man freed of cheating charge following his appeal
Published on: Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: A local man, who was jailed two years and ordered given two lashes of the cane for cheating, was freed of the charge. High Court Judge Datuk Nurchaya Hj Arshad allowed Eddie Chia Ching Hung's appeal against his conviction and sentence.She set aside the sentence and the conviction and discharged and acquitted Chia of the charge.
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Chia was on Jan 16 this year sentenced to two years' jail and ordered to be caned twice by the Magistrate's Court after he was found guilty of cheating one Chan Kai Yau by making him to believe that Chia's wife's company could get a Mesilau contract for 10 years from the Sabah Parks' Board of Trustees.Chia's trick had caused Chan to purchase a 20 per cent share of the contract worth RM70,000 in which Chan paid part of the payment (RM40,000).The offence under Section 420 of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of between one and 10 years, and whipping and fine, on conviction.Chia's counsel Azhier Farhan Arisin together with counsel Fareez Salleh in appealing for the conviction to be set aside, raised 13 grounds and among others, that the magistrate had erred in law and fact when she held that the charge was proven beyond reasonable doubt and the appellant's defence had failed to cast a reasonable doubt on the prosecution's case.
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Deputy Public Prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah urged the court not to disturb the decision of the lower court by submitting that the conviction and sentence were carefully handed down by the magistrate based on the perfect evidence adduced by the prosecution.In another case, a 19-year-old airport cargo handler who was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service after he was found guilty of a molest charge was instead send to Henry Gurney School.
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Nurchaya allowed the prosecution's appeal against the order made by the Magistrate's Court on Hairol Fitri Syazwi Hafizulairie and substituted it by ordering Hairol to be sent to the correctional school until he reaches the age of 21.The Magistrate's Court had on March 23, this year, ordered Hairol to perform the maximum hours of community services after he admitted to molesting a 24-year-old student at 8.15pm on Sept 28, 2016 at a women's toilet at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, here.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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