KOTA KINABALU (March 7): A project manager pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here on Friday to three counts of forging documents to obtain payment amounting to RM46,848,713 from the Sabah Public Works Department (JKR) between 2016 and 2018.

Victor Voo Chung Sain, 51, a manager at Pembinaan Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd, made the plea before judge Jason Juga.

On the first count, Voo is charged with dishonestly using a forged document as genuine, namely billed items, which contained false details, to obtain payment totalling RM394,915.56 between Dec 30, 2016 and January 2017, for the construction of an elevated interchange and third lane project — the Jalan Lintas/Jalan Kolam/Jalan Tuaran Batu 5 ½ intersection.

He is also charged with committing a similar offence, involving a similar document for payment amounting to RM425,293.68 for the same construction project to the JKR between July 31, 2017 and Aug 1, 2017.

On the third count, the man is charged with committing a similar offence involving a site measurement for the project, which contained a forged signature submitted to the Sabah JKR on April 24, 2018, to obtain payment for the contract worth RM46,028,504.04.

The charges, framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 468 of the same Code, provide imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine upon conviction.

The prosecution was conducted by prosecuting officer Rekhraj Singh from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), while the accused was represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh and Prem Elmer Ganasan.

The court set April 14 for mention, and allowed the accused bail of RM15,000 with one local surety, in addition to an order to report to the MACC office every two months, not to interfere with witnesses, and to surrender his passport.

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