Four Malaysians jailed over fake credit cards
By Rol Ezam

Three men and a woman from Malaysia, who were charged in the Bandar Magistrate's Court on Tuesday with using counterfeit credit cards to purchase items last year, have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12-18 months.

Lim Choon Chye, 41, was sentenced to a year in jail, Chan Chong Kian, 48, a year and 6 months, Sim Yaw Moh, 37, a year, and Wong Yuet Ngor, 37, a year's imprisonment.

Magistrate Muhd Faisal bin Pehin Hj Keiflie sentenced Lim, Chan and Wong to a year's imprisonment for using a forged HSBC MasterCard at UNITEK Company at Yong Siong Hai Building, Simpang 137 in Jalan Gadong on December 26 last year.

Meanwhile, Chan was sentenced to another one year and six months in jail for cheating a UNITEK senior sales executive and a sales executive to deliver to him an Acer Ferrari 3000 notebook by impersonating as Lim Swee Ong of No. 23 Jalan Tembakau, Kuching, Sarawak to purchase the item.

Magistrate Muhd Faisal sentenced Sim to a year in jail for using a forged Visa credit card at Intracorp Sdn Bhd, Unit 28, Block B in Kampong Delima Satu on December 30 last year.

He was sentenced to another one year and six months in jail for pretending to be another person and cheating a Intracorp salesperson by causing him to charge $4,700 to the fake Visa credit card.

However, the Magistrate ordered Chan's and Sim's sentences to run concurrently. He also ordered the sentences of all four defendants to take effect from the date of their remand.

Earlier, the four Malaysians and another man also from Malaysia were charged with possessing 54 forged credit cards (Visa/MasterCard). Lim, Chan and Sim also faced charges of using a forged Visa (MasterCard) and conspiring to cheat a UNITEK salesperson to deliver an Acer Ferrari 3000 notebook to them.

However, those three charges were withdrawn two days ago. Ngu Chien Siew was also discharged and acquitted of the joint charge of possessing 54 fake credit cards.

Deputy Public Prosecutor, Hj Nabil Daraina PDH Badaruddin said the four defendants departed from Miri in a taxi and arrived in Brunei on December 26 last year.

When the defendants arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, Sim called an acquaintance, Ngu, to borrow a vehicle. Ngu agreed to lend Sim a vehicle.

Lim had a number of gold credit cards under various names. He claimed to have obtained these cards from his "taukay" in Kuala Lumpur. He had a number of fake Malaysian identity cards bearing his own photo and the photos of Chan, Sim and Wong but bearing different names, said the prosecutor.

The photos were obtained as early as mid-November last year with the consent of the three defendants for making false ICs.

Lim instructed Sim to drive to UNITEK Company. On arrival near Yong Siong Hai Building, Lim gave Chan a gold HSBC MasterCard bearing the name of another person. He also gave Chan a fake Malaysian IC bearing the name of the person with the address "No. 23 Jalan Tembakau 93000 Kuching" but showing Chan's photo, the prosecutor said.

Lim also gave Wong a gold-coloured credit card bearing the name of another person. She also received a fake Malaysian IC bearing the same name with the address "No. 90 Jalan Utama 7 20/2 TE Taman Segara 93100 Kuching" from Lim.

Lim told Chan and Wong to go into the computer shop to buy an Acer Ferrari notebook.

Chan and Wong entered UNITEK Company and were served by a sales executive. Chan and Wong told the sales executive that they were looking for an Acer Ferrari notebook for their daughter, the prosecutor said.

After a brief negotiation on the price, Chan agreed to pay $3,300 for the notebook.

Chan produced the fake credit card given to him by Lim to the senior sales executive of the company. He also produced the IC bearing his picture but with the same name as in the credit card for identification.

The credit card was swiped at the credit card terminal and the transaction was approved. Wong had with her a credit card and a fake IC as backup in the event the credit card used by Chan was rejected, said the prosecutor.

Chan and Wong spent about 30 minutes inside the shop. While they were at the computer shop, Lim was waiting inside the vehicle with Sim. Both of them then went to a nearby coffee shop while waiting for their friends to come over.

From the coffee shop, all of the defendants returned to the vehicle and went to an apartment at Mohd Yusof Complex, Jalan Tutong where they were staying.

Later in the same afternoon, UNITEK Company became aware that the earlier credit card transaction was fraudulent and lodged a police report on the same day.

The prosecutor said that the defendants were stopped at Sg Tujuh Control Post on December 31 by members of the Royal Brunei Police Force who were told to look out for the vehicle. All of the defendants were detained including Ngu Chien Siew.

He said that neither the computer notebook nor the credit card used by Chan at UNITEK were recovered. Lim told the police that he had earlier disposed of the credit card used by Chan prior to his arrest. He also claimed that the notebook was brought to Malaysia on the day he was arrested by a person he identified as "Kambon", who left for Kuala Lumpur to meet Lim's "taukay".

Meanwhile, Sim and some others went to Intracorp Sdn Bhd in Kg Delima Satu a day before they were arrested to view electrical items and car accessories.

He used a gold-coloured Visa credit card to purchase car audio accessories amounting to $4,700, said the prosecutor.

When a sales executive at the Intracorp branch swiped the credit card at the credit card terminal for the amount of $4,700, the transaction was approved.

Police inquiries at a bank revealed that the Visa credit card used by the defendant was fake, the prosecutor said.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin