KUALA LUMPUR (April 27): A 73-year-old former director of Silver Ridge Holdings Bhd (KL:SRIDGE) has claimed trial at the Sessions Court here on Monday for allegedly cheating Bank Pembangunan Malaysia’s assistant manager by handing in a false declaration form with regard to an independent checking engineer (ICE) project 14 years ago.

Wong Chee Keong, 73, a former Telekom Malaysia Bhd manager, was charged with cheating an assistant manager of the bank’s technical services division by producing a fake declaration form dated Aug 13, 2012, in which he has interests, with regard to Silver Ridge’s ICE project, in order to confuse the company.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at Bank Pembangunan, here, on Aug 13, 2012. Wong is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and punishable under Section 24 of the MACC Act where he stands to face a maximum jail term of 20 years, or five times the amount of gratification.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Vivien Yeap Jie Xi offered bail at RM20,000 and asked that Wong’s passport be impounded, and that he report to the MACC office once a month.

Wong’s counsel, Muhammad Hafizzuddin Salehuddin of Messrs Salehuddin Saidin & Associates, agreed to the bail amount, but requested that his client not be required to surrender his passport.

This, he added, was because Wong now resides as a permanent resident in Australia and is caring for his 76-year-old wife, who suffers from serious ailments.

Hafizzuddin, who appeared with Siti Sarah Khalil, asked that Wong report to the MACC once every two months given his caregiving responsibilities.

“He has been assisting with the MACC since 2022, and at that time, the case was classified as no further action (NFA). He has been in Malaysia for a month.

“If he is not sincere, he would not have come back from Australia,” Hafizzuddin added.

Following this, Sessions Court judge Mohd Kafli Che Ali allowed bail at RM20,000 with two local Malaysian sureties, and allowed Wong to report to the MACC office once every two months.

He also said that Wong need not surrender his passport. Kafli set June 6 as the mentioned date. 

Wong’s charge on Monday could be related to businessman Shailen Popatlal, also known as Shailen Gajera, who was charged with money-laundering and forging a document last week.

Shailen was charged with seven counts of money laundering at the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Friday (April 24) involving RM128.34 million, allegedly transferred from Paneagle Holdings Bhd to his Hong Kong company, Primawin Ltd.

A day earlier, Shailen was charged at the KL Sessions Court for using a forged document to secure a RM400 million loan from Bank Pembangunan. Shailen was also represented by Hafizzuddin.

Meanwhile, on Feb 23, a former managing director of a telecommunications firm, Datuk Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, was charged with graft and also using a forged document as true.

Ranjeet was charged with presenting a fraudulent agreement to fulfil the requirements for the RM400 million loan application for Bank Pembangunan in 2012. He was charged under Section 471 of the Penal Code, which, if found guilty, would result in jail of up to two years, a fine, or both.

The case revolves around a private project by Aries Telecoms (M) Bhd, formerly known as V Telecoms Bhd, to develop a sprawling coastal fibre-optic network around Peninsular Malaysia.

It is understood that Wong, Shailen, and Ranjeet’s cases could be related to the RM400 million loan taken out by Aries Telecom (M) Bhd in 2012 for a 30,000km fibre-optic project that was never completed and not repaid.

The matter was also subject to civil proceedings by Bank Pembangunan, but on both occasions failed, including one as recent as on Feb 23.

The Edge has previously published a special report over the Aries Telecoms matter.

Read also:
Businessman Shailen Popatlal charged with RM128m money laundering, forged document linked to RM400m Aries Telecom loan fallout
Telco director charged with bribing development bank chief over RM400 mil fraud project
High Court strikes out Bank Pembangunan’s second lawsuit over RM400 mil loan to Aries Telecoms
Special report : What happened to aries telecoms RM400 million loan incomplete fibreoptic project