Ex-university admission manager fined RM35,000 for forging recruitment documents

New Straits Times

4 days ago

IPOH: A former private university admission manager was fined RM35,000, in default of four months' imprisonment, by the Sessions Court here today for forging student recruitment documents six years ago.
Mohd Khalid Ka'ab, 42, pleaded guilty before Judge Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi.
According to the charge sheet, the accused had dishonestly used a document as genuine, namely, a Student Recruitment Agreement between Institut Teknologi Petronas Sdn Bhd (ITPSB) and Profedge Sdn Bhd, dated August 1, 2019.
As an agency company appointed to provide promotional services for Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) programmes and to recruit students from the Federal Territory, Selangor, and other locations for admission into the university, the accused had reason to believe that the document was false.
The offence was allegedly committed at the UTP Registrar's Office in Seri Iskandar in June 2019.
The charge was framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465, which provides for a maximum of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Prosecuting officer Shahrul Azuan Ghazali from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) handled the case, while Mohamad Izwan Abd Rahman appeared for the accused.
In pleading for leniency, Izwan told the court that his client had admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity, which saved valuable court time.
However, Shahrul Azuan urged the court to impose a commensurate sentence as a deterrent to prevent similar offences in the future.
According to the facts of the case, the accused used a document titled Student Recruitment Agreement between ITPSB and Profedge Sdn Bhd to support an official payment made in the name of Profedge Sdn Bhd.
The company was claimed to be an appointed agency tasked with providing promotional services for UTP programmes and recruiting students from other locations for admission into UTP.
However, the services were never actually carried out, and the payment amounted to RM323,650.
During an Executive Management Committee meeting held on July 15, 2020, by the university, it was confirmed that the agreement under the name of Profedge Sdn Bhd had never been reviewed.
On Sept 15, 2021, a report was filed with the MACC and investigations revealed that the accused had forged the agreement between ITPSB and Profedge Sdn Bhd.
The forged document was used to facilitate payments by UTP through six invoices issued to Profedge Sdn Bhd, despite the fact that the students listed in the invoices had not been recruited through the agency.