KULAI, Nov 10 — A 34-year-old unemployed man pled guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here today for threatening to burn the family house of MCA national public complaints and service bureau deputy chief Chua Jian Boon last September.

Teng Chee Sing’s charges were read out to him in Mandarin in front of magistrate Sharifah Maleeha Syed Hussin.

Teng was accused of making the threat in a telephone call to Chua’s 58-year-old father on September 21 at around 12.46pm in front of a bank in Bandar Indahpura here.

He was charged under Section 507 of the Penal Code read together with Section 506 of the same Act, which carries a maximum seven years in jail, or a fine, or both upon conviction.

Teng pled guilty but asked the court for a fine instead of imprisonment, saying he suffers from a back injury that requires regular medical check-ups.

However, the magistrate rejected his request and sentenced him to five months imprisonment from the date of his arrest, which was on October 31.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Edlynn Wong prosecuted the case while lawyer Hidayah Asri represented the accused.

Yesterday, Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said four members of an illegal money lending syndicate, including a man believed to be responsible for making threats towards Chua and his family have been arrested by the police.

He said that the suspects were arrested between October 27 and 31 in separate raids in Johor Baru, following a report lodged by Chua on October 7 after his house was splashed with red paint and he received threats from loan sharks for helping those who owed them.