SHAH ALAM, July 24 — The Sessions Court here today acquitted and discharged the younger brother of businessman Nicky Liow Soon Hee from tax evasion and money laundering charges.

Judge Norazlin Othman ordered Liow Wei Kin, 30, to be freed after his lawyer Datuk Rajpal Singh informed the court that his client had paid RM4.147 in unpaid taxes, special penalty, fine and compound for his money laundering charges to the government.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Shafinas Shabudin requested for all charges against Liow under the Income Tax Act 1967 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorist Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (AMLATFPUAA) Act 2001 be to be nullified and for the court to order a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

She told the court that an agreement had been reached with Liow and that he had paid RM4.147 million worth of unpaid taxes, special penalty, fine and compound for his money laundering charges to the government on July 3 this year.

However, Rajpal Singh appealed for the court to grant his client full acquittal to his client since Liow had paid the sum and the charges were nullified.

Liow was charged with three counts of incorrectly submitting tax return forms by omitting annual incomes totalling RM2,672,500 which is taxable at RM686,376.45 for the assessment years from 2017 to 2019 and in doing so, had committed an offence under Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967.

He was also charged with one count of failing to declare RM444,474 in income for tax returns for the year 2016 on May 16, 2017.

The offence, under Section 112(1) of the same law, provides a fine of between RM200 and RM20,000 as imprisonment for up to six months or both upon conviction.

Apart from these charges, Liow was also charged with four counts of having direct involvement in transactions involving proceeds from illegal activities amounting to RM779,894.95 under Section 4(1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).

He was charged with committing the offences at the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board, Petaling Jaya branch in Bandar Damansara Perdana, near here between May 16, 2017 and May 30, 2020. — Bernama