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Court Orders a Retrial for Malaysian Man Using Counterfeit Notes
June 1st, 2016 | 11:03 AM | 2042 views
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
The Court of Appeal dismissed the Public Prosecutor's application against the acquittal of a Malaysian man, seeking an order for a retrial, in a case of using and possessing three counterfeit Singapore $10,000 notes.
The defendant, Thian Li Heng, was alleged to have committed two offences on separate occasions on January 24, 2014 using two counterfeit notes to buy two gold bars first and then gold jewellery at a jeweller in Kiulap.
The third charge is of possession of the third counterfeit $10,000 note.
DPP Yvonne Lim who sought for the retrial order in the appeal was denied the application as the Justices of the appellate court presided by Justice John Barry Mortimer, flanked by Justices Burrell and Seagroatt, were of the view that it was open for the judge to make his finding to acquit Thian on the grounds that the prosecution had not satisfied him beyond the court's reasonable doubt that at the time Thian used and possessed the counterfeit notes because he "didn't know or had reason to believe they were counterfeit".
In statements to the police, in court evidence during trial, Thian had maintained that he owed money and needed to borrow to pay his debts.
He sought help from a man in Miri, whom he had learnt about through another man Thian calls 'Uncle,' and got $30,000 assistance to be repaid in instalments, without security in view of Thian's connection - 'Uncle' and the man in Miri.
Thian also took up the initiative to scan the notes at a shop, as it was a Saturday and could not check with the banks and even broke the notes down to smaller currencies to pay his debts.
After a single successful scan, which confirmed the notes to be genuine, led to the defendant's purchases from the jewellers to break the notes down to smaller currencies after one unsuccessful visit to a goldsmith and a money changer.
Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM
by BruDirect.com
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