KUCHING: An engineering company director was charged at the Sessions Court here on Tuesday (Aug 11) with criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM120,306 in Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions.
The 37-year-old accused pleaded not guilty to a single charge read out before Judge Mursyida Abdul Halim.
According to the charge, the accused, as a director of the company entrusted with paying RM120,306 in EPF contributions for employees under a collaboration involving the Sarawak Methanol Project, committed CBT by failing to remit the contributions.
He is alleged to have committed the offence at the company’s office in Demak Laut Industrial Park between September 2022 and September 2023.
The charge is framed under Section 405 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 409 of the same code.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of not less than two years and up to 20 years, along with whipping, and may also be liable to a fine.
The court allowed bail of RM10,000 with one local surety, and fixed Sept 11 for case management. The accused was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.
It is understood that in April 2022, the complainant company had appointed the accused’s company as a subcontractor to carry out the Sarawak Methanol Project, with the complainant company responsible for financing while the accused’s company handled project works.
Between August 2022 and August 2023, the accused’s company allegedly submitted claims for workers’ salaries, including statutory contributions such as EPF, the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and the Employment Insurance System (EIS).
The complainant company paid more than RM300,000 into the accused company’s account.
Around 2025, the complainant discovered that the accused’s company had failed to remit the EPF, SOCSO and EIS contributions on behalf of the entrusted employees, despite the payments having been claimed and paid in full to the accused.
The accused was present in court, represented by counsel Daniel Ling and Vanessa Yii.
