BEAUFORT: A female clerk was freed by the Magistrate's Court here on two counts of fraudulently concealing RM16,300 in her bank account.
Nadia Farhana Roslih was discharged and acquitted, without her defence being called, after the Magistrate ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against her.
In his ruling, Magistrate Afiq Agoes among others held that the oral transaction was made between the complainant and one, Shafiq Teo Abdullah. The accused was never in the picture.
He said the only reason Nadia was charged in this court was because the bank account used by the complainant to transfer the money to Shafiq Teo bears the name of the accused.
"I find that just because the bank account bears the name of the accused, it does not mean she assisted in concealing the said money that falls within the ambit of Section 424 of the Penal Code," he said.
It is also pertinent to note that all the crucial witnesses testified that they have never seen the accused nor did they have any business to do with her.
Witnesses testified that it was Shafiq Teo who deceived the complainant and asked the complainant to transfer the said money to the accused's bank account.
Afiq further held that the prosecution's failure to call Shafiq Teo Abdullah, who was an important witness, had caused the chain of evidence to break.
"Therefore I am not satisfied that the prosecution has a prima facie case against the accused and the accused is discharged and acquitted from the charges framed against her," he said.
The first and second charges stated that Nadia dishonestly concealed RM11,900 and RM4,400 belonging to Lim Guan Huat by depositing the money into her Maybank account.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Maybank branch in Beaufort between Jan - Dec 2016 and Jan - Dec 2015.
Both charges, under Section 424 of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to five years, or fine, or both, if found guilty.
Six witnesses were called during the trial.
Counsels Ram Singh, Kimberly Ye and Chen Wen Jye represented Nadia.
