P. Sathia Seelan

KUALA LUMPUR — A businessman was fined RM300,000 by the Sessions Court here today, after he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of cheating the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso), involving RM496,000 for non-existent training courses, five years ago.

Judge Suzana Hussin meted out the sentence on P. Sathia Seelan, 52, after he pleaded guilty to all 10 charges during the case mention today.

The court imposed a RM30,000 fine for each charge, totalling RM300,000, and ordered the man to be jailed for 10 months if he fails to pay the fine.

According to the first to 10th charges, Sathia Seelan was accused of deceiving two Perkeso officers by submitting documents containing falsified attendance lists and participant signatures for three training courses that were never conducted. The offences, involving five companies, were allegedly committed between Dec 4, 2020, and July 22, 2021.

It prompted Perkeso to make a payment of RM496,000 to Global Education Network Sdn Bhd, owned by the accused, which the agency would not have done if it had not been deceived.

He was charged with committing the offences at the Employment Services Division, Menara Perkeso, Putrajaya, between Dec 23, 2020, and Aug 12, 2021. The charges were framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

In the same proceedings, R. Nanthagopal, 43, was also fined RM300,000 or 10 months’ jail, after pleading guilty to abetting Sathia Seelan in committing the offences at the same location and time.

The charge was framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 109 of the same law, which provides for a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noor Syazwani Mohamad Sobry urged the court to impose a sentence which would serve as a deterrent, ensuring both accused do not repeat such offences.

Lawyer R. Babu Naidu, representing both accused, pleaded for a lighter sentence on the grounds that his clients had expressed remorse and had fully cooperated with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) throughout the investigation since 2023. — BERNAMA