Kuala Lumpur: A businessman was fined RM300,000 by the sessions court here today after pleading guilty to cheating the Social Security Organisation (Socso) of nearly RM500,000 in incentive payments for courses that were never conducted.
The claims were made under the Penjana Kerjaya 1.0 and 2.0 programmes between 2020 and 2021.
Judge Suzana Hussin meted out the sentence on P Sathia Seelan, 52, the owner of Global Education Network Sdn Bhd (GENSB), after he pleaded guilty to 10 alternative charges read out to him in court.
The court also ordered him to serve 10 months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
According to the charges, Sathia deceived two Socso officers by submitting documents containing attendance lists and participant signatures for training courses that were never held.
The offences took place at the Socso office in Putrajaya between Dec 23, 2020 and Aug 12, 2021.
His actions led Socso to pay RM496,000 to GENSB, payments the agency would not have made had it not been misled.
The charges were framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ jail, a fine or both.
In the same proceedings, Sathia’s accomplice, R Nanthagopal, 43, was also fined RM300,000 or 10 months’ imprisonment in default, after pleading guilty to abetting him in committing the offences at the same time and place.
Nanthagopal was charged under Section 417 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 109, which provides the same punishment.
Lawyer R Babu Naidu represented the duo while Noor Syazwani Sobry appeared for the prosecution.
