JOHOR BAHRU: Police have arrested eight men, including four “Datuks”, for suspected involvement in the illegal transfer of three plots of government land worth more than RM100 million in Kluang.
Johor police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the three pieces of land, totalling 1,699.68ha, were worth just RM1.47 million when the state government awarded them to a statutory body in 1987.
The illegal transfer of ownership happened in 1994 but the scam was uncovered only in the middle of last year, he told reporters here today.
He said one of the suspects was arrested in Johor and the others were detained in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor between 3pm and 8pm yesterday when they turned up to have their statements recorded.
“All those arrested are locals aged between 46 and 75. They served as officers at the land office and as directors of a cooperative at the time,” he said.
Kamarul said an assistant land officer of the statutory body lodged a police report about the cheating case in January.
The complainant claimed that the three plots of land had been transferred to a private company without the knowledge and approval of the statutory body, he said.
“Investigations showed that before the land was transferred to the company, it was mortgaged to a cooperative in 1994,” he added.
So far, 28 witnesses comprising company directors, a company secretary, lawyers, liquidators, land office staff, and officers of the statutory body had been questioned by the Bukit Aman commercial crime department in connection with the case, he said.
He said all those arrested had been given police bail for one month while waiting for the investigation papers to be completed for submission to the deputy public prosecutor’s office.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years, whipping and fine upon conviction. - FMT
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