IPOH, April 28 — A former Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) chairman was fined RM150,000 by the Ipoh Sessions Court today, after he pleaded guilty to deceiving a former state assemblyman involving a surau construction contribution amounting to RM350,000 in 2017.

Judge S. Indra Nehru meted out the punishment to Zulkifle Othman, 59, after he pleaded guilty to one of the three charges brought against him under Section 417 of the Penal Code for cheating, and also ordered him to serve 15 months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.

Based on the facts of the case, Zulkifle, who at that time held the position as the JKKK chairman and village head of Kampung Lambak, Kampung Cabang Lima and Kampung Lubuk Salak, in the Muallim district, had deceived Datuk Rusnah Kassim into believing that the contribution was to build a new surau in Kampung Kubu.

Zulkifle’s action prompted Rusnah to apply to the Menteri Besar’s office for a contribution of RM350,000 for the said purpose on March 15, 2017.

The contribution application was approved and deposited into a Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad account belonging to the JKKK Kampung Lambak, Cabang Lima and Lubok Salak, but the construction work of the new surau has not been carried out to date.

He was charged under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of five years or a fine or both.

However, for the other two charges, Zulkifle was discharged and acquitted under Section 171 (A) of the Criminal Procedure Code, following a plea bargain.

Deputy public prosecutor Maziyah Mansor prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Hisham Nazir.

Indra Nehru also ordered the accused’s savings amounting to RM203,686.45, a Honda Civic car worth RM33,500 and a laptop, to be forfeited to the government. — Bernama