Company director charged with submitting RM4.2mil in false claims

2026-03-13 - 07:34

Sohpian Ariffin faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted. KUALA LUMPUR: A company director pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here to three charges of submitting over RM4.2 million in false claims to a government-linked agency. Sohpian Ariffin, 46, made the plea before judge Suzana Hussin. According to the charges, he allegedly submitted false payment claims on behalf of his company, Hadid Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd, to the finance officer at the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), Nurul Kartini Abu Bakar. The false claims involve overseas oil and gas construction projects that the company had not actually undertaken. For the first charge, Sohpian was accused of submitting a false claim totalling RM2,821,380.59 on Nov 13, 2018 at the MTDC office in Menara Yayasan Tun Razak, Jalan Bukit Bintang. The second charge involved a similar offence on April 22, 2019, with a claim totalling RM1,240,180.83. The third charge concerned a false claim of RM223,672.17, submitted on Feb 4, 2020 at the same location. He was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. If convicted, Sohpian faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. Deputy public prosecutor Selvam T Armugom offered bail of RM100,000 for all charges. However, Sohpian’s lawyer, Riza Makhzan Arifin, requested a reduction, citing that his client is unemployed, has four children, suffers from asthma, and needs to prepare for Aidilfitri. Suzana granted bail of RM60,000 with one surety for all charges, with additional conditions that Sohpian surrender his passport to the court, report to the MACC office, and not interfere with prosecution witnesses until the case concludes. The court set 21 April for the next case mention.