MH370 theft case: Man gets four years jail term, three strokes of cane

Kuala Lumpur, May 20: A man in Malaysia was given four years of jail term and three strokes of the cane for stealing from the bank accounts of four MH370 passengers.

Judge Norsharidah Awang sentenced mechanic Basheer Ahmad Maula Sahul Hameed, 34, following his conviction last Wednesday, Thestar.com reported.

Basheer was pleaded guilty of withdrawing a total of RM7,650 from the account of Chinese national Tian Jun Wei.

Although Basheer had pleaded guilty, deputy public prosecutor Fadhli Mahmud urged the court not to reduce the severity of the punishment.

He said a discount for guilty pleas was not mandatory, adding that in this case public importance outweighed private importance.
Judge Norsharidah did not issue a sentence for Basheer's wife, bank officer Nur Shila Kanan as she was on sick leave due to diarrhoea, according to a medical certificate from Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

However, the court later issued an arrest warrant for Nur Shila, saying she would be sentenced on Wednesday if caught or else her case would be fixed for mention on Thursday.

Nur Shila also faces prison for making illegal transfers and withdrawals, amounting to RM85,180 in total, from the passengers' accounts.

The money was reported missing from the accounts of two Chinese nationals, Ju Kun and Tian Jun Wei, and Malaysians Hue Pui Peng and flight steward Tan Size Hiang.

HSBC returned the cash to the account holder's families, while the criminal duo's bank accounts of Basheer and Nur Shila were frozen.

OneIndia News