HSBC Bank officer charged for stealing money from victims of missing flight MH370

KUALA LUMPUR: A couple pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to multiple charges involving theft from the bank accounts of four passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Bank officer Nur Shila Kanan and her mechanic husband Ba­­sheer Ahmad Maula Sahul Hameed, both 33, were accused of making illegal transfers and withdrawals, amounting to RM85,180 in total, from the accounts.

Nur Shila faces 12 principal charges in relation to transferring money from the HSBC Bank accounts to other bank accounts, theft, getting approval for a debit card and making a new Internet banking application with intent to cheat, and using forged documents at the HSBC branch in Lebuh Ampang from May 14 to July 14.

Basheer faces four main char­ges, including one for allegedly using a debit card and an ATM card to withdraw cash from the bank accounts.

He allegedly committed the offences at the bank’s ATM centre at Ampang Point here between May 15 and June 29.

Each of them also face four alternative charges of stealing from the HSBC Bank 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.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Fadhli Mahmud applied to the court to set bail for each at RM20,000 in one surety and asked that the couple be made to surrender their passports to the court.

Lawyer Abdul Hakeem Aiman Mohd Affandi, who appeared for the couple, asked that bail be set at RM10,000 in one surety for each and said that they were willing to surrender their passports.

Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah set bail at RM12,000 in one surety for each and impounded their passports.

He fixed Aug 25 for the case to be brought before him again.

The Star/Asia News Network

MH370: Couple claim trial to illegal withdrawals

• 
• 
• 
• 

KUALA LUMPUR: A bank officer and her husband pleaded not guilty in the sessions court today to multiple charges involving illegal transfer and withdrawal of money, amounting to RM110,643, from the accounts of four passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Nur Shila Kanan and her husband, Basheer Ahmad Maula Sahul Hameed, both 33, face multiple charges under the Computer Crimes Act, 1997, and Sections 379, 465 and 471 of the Penal Code.

Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah allowed them to be tried jointly. He set bail at RM12,000 each in one surety and ordered that their international passports be surrendered to the court.

Nur Shila faces 12 principal charges of illegal transfer of money from HSBC Bank, thefts, cheating and forging documents.

She also faces three alternative charges for theft, all of which she allegedly committed at HSBC Lebuh Ampang branch between May 14 and July 8.

Basheer faces four principal charges of using an ATM card and debit card to make illegal withdrawals and four alternative charges for theft, all of which had been allegedly committed at the HSBC ATM at Ampang Point between May 15 and June 29.

DPP Ahmad Fadli Mahmud asked the court to set bail at RM20,000 each in one surety.

Defence counsel Abdul Hakeem Aiman Mohd Affandi, however, requested for the bail to be reduced to RM10,000 on grounds that Nur Shila is a staff in HSBC earning RM3,000 a month, while Basheer, a mechanic, earns RM2,000 a month and have five people under their care, including three children aged between five years and six months old.

Mat Ghani fixed Aug 25 for mention before Judge Norsharidah Awang.

It was earlier reported that money had been missing from the bank accounts of four passengers of MH370 – Chinese nationals Ju Kun and Tian Jun Wei, and Malaysians Hue Pui Heng and flight steward Tan Size Hian.

Initial investigations reportedly revealed that the suspect had transferred funds from three passengers’ bank accounts into the account of a fourth passenger through Internet banking, and together with the fourth passenger’s account, the amount totalled RM110,643.

It was also reported that the missing money came to light on July 18 when a bank officer from a foreign bank detected a series of suspicious transactions and transfers from the four accounts.

Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The plane has yet to be found, even after an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed to have gone down.

By Karen Arukesamy newsdesk@thesundaily.my

Related posts:

What the hack were they up to, MH370?

Hackers target information on MH370 probe The computers of high-ranking officials in agencies involved in the MH370 investigation were ha...

Malaysia's flight MH370 mistakes reflect stagnant politics; Bad apples in NZ sex crime..

Malaysia is poised to escape the middle-income trap, but also ready to fall back into it. Normally the middle-income trap refers to count...

Related articles:

• MH370: Couple plead not guilty to making fraudulent withdrawals
• Hunt for duo who siphoned money intensifies
• Mystery withdrawals from accounts of MH370 passengers
• Wife of crew member shocked over missing money
• MH370: Cops identify possible suspects in RM111,000 withdrawals from victims' accounts

• AG to get probe papers on missing money
• MH370: Two held for stealing RM110,643 from passengers
• Hisham condemns theft from bank accounts of MH370 victims
• Suspect in MH370 ATM scam identified
• Fugitive Pakistani still in country, says police

Prevent ATM thieves and cyber crimes on the rise

Banks to arm machines with ink bombs to stain stolen notes

PETALING JAYA: Thieves who rob automated teller machines will be left with worthless pieces of paper if a Bank Negara proposal is put into place. Dye bombs are to be placed in the ATMs and if anyone tampers with the machines, the “bomb” goes off, leaving the notes stained in red and easily recognisable as stolen money.

Bank Negara, in its guidelines on Dye-Stained Banknotes dated Aug 26, is calling on both banks and Cash in Transit Companies to consider using the currency protection device (CPD) to deter ATM theft.

Local security company Extro Code Sdn Bhd demonstrated yesterday a CPD or dye pack which is already available in the market.

Its technical director Mohd Zaki Sulaiman said that once installed, the dye pack would be triggered when someone tries to break into the ATM.

“The device is like a smoke bomb which releases the ink onto the stacks of banknotes in the ATM,” he said.

Mohd Zaki said there’s no actual explosion but there is some heat when the CPD is triggered.“The actual triggering mechanism is a trade secret,” he added.

He said the ink called Disperse Red 9 was not harmful. He said the ink was imported but the actual CPD was developed and produced locally.

Mohd Zaki declined to reveal the cost of each dye pack and the installation cost. “Who pays for the device will depend on Bank Negara and the banks,” he said.

He said there are four ATM providers in the country but installing the dye-packs in the different machines should not be a problem.

The Bank Negara guidelines state that the CPD would emit a bright coloured dye by smoke, liquid or any other agent to stain the currency in the event ATMs are broken into.

This will enable authorities and the public to easily identify the defaced stolen currency and render them unfit for use.

The guidelines also sets out conditions under which these banknotes will be replaced. Among them:

• > The ink has to be indelible by water, fuel, gas, bleach and detergent.
• > It must be traceable to the ATM, to assist police investigations.
• > It must stain at least 10% of each bank note.
• > It can be detected and rejected by banknotes authentication machines used by banks such as Cash 

Deposit Machines. >It must be non-hazardous and non-toxic.

If banks retrieved the dye-stained currency, they can submit the banknotes to the central bank for assessment.
Tellers will also be trained to detect these banknotes.

The public and retailers will be advised not to accept dye-stained banknotes as they are likely to be stolen.

These measure, Bank Negara believes, will reduce ATM robberies.

In the United States, banks have dye bombs in vaults and any unauthorised person who tries to remove any money will trigger the bomb, leaving all the money – and the robber – stained in ink.

- Contributed by NEVILLE SPYKERMAN  neville@thestar.com.my

Related stories:
9000 machines nationwide to have CPD
Cops welcome currency protection device proposal

Cyber crimes on the rise - millions of ringgit being lost annually to scams

 

Public awareness: (From left) Ambank deputy managing director Datuk Mohamed Azmi Mahmood, Khalid and AmIslamic Bank Berhad CEO Datuk Mahdi Morad at the launch of the Scam Alert campaign in Bukit Aman 

KUALA LUMPUR: Fraud and cyber crimes in the country have risen unchecked due to the lack of public awareness, while victims are hesitant to report the crime, the police said.

Millions of ringgit have been lost annually to crimes like sms scams and parcel scams, which have mostly gone unnoticed in the public eye.

In a bid to stop such crimes, the police has launched an awareness initiative on the various types of scams in the country.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the initiative, under the National Blue Ocean Strategy, comprised cooperation with the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM).

The public would be informed and educated on the different types of fraud and cyber crime scams being used by today’s criminals.

“We are posting a list of the various methods and modus operandi used in these scams at our official police website at www.rmp.gov.my.

“This will be linked to the websites of all banks in the country so that anyone can easily access the information which will be regularly updated,” he said after launching the initiative at Bukit Aman yesterday.

Khalid said RM98.6mil in losses was recorded last year in cases involving cyber crimes, including Internet banking fraud as well as sms and parcel scams.

“So far this year, such losses have reached RM80.7mil, which shows that such cases and losses are increasing,” he said.

He added that losses to sms scams had jumped from RM5.8mil last year to RM39.2mil so far this year.

- The Star/Asia News Network

Crime Watch !

Crime Watch...

(1) Today I passed by a building which has an ATM machine. There was an old man looking at me. Suddenly, he called me. He said he didn’t know how to read, so he gave me his ATM card and asked me to help him withdraw money from the ATM machine. I answered ‘NO! If you need help, ask the security to help you.’ Then he said ‘never mind…’ and continued to find other people to help him… REMEMBER: ATM machines have CCTVs. If you help him he will later claim that you have robbed him or stolen his ATM card. Besides, his ATM card could be a stolen one. So please be careful of these tactics. (2) Suddenly your house lights go off. From your window you find that your neighbours still have their lights. So you go out of your house to check the Meter Box. But once you open the door, a knife will be pointing at you and preventing you from closing it. This is when you will be robbed and injured. REMEMBER: Even though your electricity suddenly goes off, DO NOT open your door immediately. Look around to see if there is anything unusual or if there is any noise around. (3) This is another incident. You may have heard about it before; it is about a lady who saw a kid crying by the roadside. When she spoke to the kid, the kid told her he was lost and wanted her to take him home. The kid even gave her a paper with his house address. So she took him home. But when she rang the door bell, she had an electric shock. Later when she woke up, she was naked in an empty room. REMEMBER: Being such a compassionate and helpful person might not be a good thing these days. Girls, please be careful. DON’T BE TOO KIND! (4) One day, there was an old lady outside my house holding two packets of sweets. At first I thought she was our neighbour and wanted to give us these packs of sweets as a gift. But then when she spoke, I realise that she was foreigner. I could not understand what she was talking about. I guessed she must be asking for money. I sensed there was something wrong and immediately closed the door and ignored her. Later, I found she and an accomplice robbed someone else down the road. (5) I was at the ATM machine to withdraw some money. Behind me, there was an old lady. She asked me whether I was able to withdraw my money because she said she had problem with the machine. Suddenly a small girl came up beside me. The small girl was tugging and squeezing in front of me. I thought she was just naughty and playful. But then, the small girl placed her hand inside the tray of the ATM machine where the money was being dispensed out; ready to take away my money. I sensed something wrong and immediately pushed her away. Later I realised that the small girl and the old lady worked hand in hand together. She was trying to steal my money while the old lady was trying to distract my attention by asking me questions! REMEMBER: BE VERY CAREFUL when you are at an ATM machine and be alert. Look out for anyone suspicious around you! (6) My parents are retired and stay at home most days. One afternoon, a young stranger went to their house and said his motorcycle had no more fuel and the petrol station was too far away, for him to push his bike there. So he asked my parents for an empty coke bottle to buy some petrol. He said he will pay RM2 for the bottle. So my mum gave one coke bottle to him. He really took out the money from his pocket, but it was a RM 100 note. He told my mum he had no small change and asked my mum to give him the change. Luckily my mum was smart. She just told him to take it for free. REMEMBER: obviously that note isfake! Who would want to pay for RM2 for an empty coke bottle! It’s very OBVIOUS that that stranger was a trickster. (7) This happened in Bali . A newly married couple was having their honeymoon at the hotel. When both were in the changing room, the wife suddenly went missing. The husband was very anxious and went around finding her. He asked the hotel staff to help him find her. Then he thought his wife was just playing hide and seek. So he went back and waited for his wife. After a few hours, he decided to call the police. Three weeks passed and there was still no news about his missing wife. So he went back and was very disappointed and sad. A few years later, he came back to Bali , to watch a ‘FREAK SHOW’ in an old house. He saw a dirty and rusty metal cage. Inside there was a lady without limbs. Her body including the face was full of scars. When he had a closer look at her face, he was shocked to find out that she was his missing wife caged there and used for begging. (8) This happened in Shanghai . A few years ago, a lady reported to the police that her cousin sister was missing in the shopping complex. But after five years, one of her friends found her cousin sister begging at the road side on one of the streets in Bangkok , Thailand . The worst thing was that her cousin sister had no more limbs and her body was tied to a lamp post with a shackle (metal chain). (9) Let’s just shorten this story. DO NOT open your house door when you hear the sound of a BABY CRYING! It might be a trap! Women in the house must be alert to this form of trick. The police said it is the work of a robber or murderer using the recording of a crying baby to attract your attention. This normally happens at night and when you are alone in the house. (10) I read an email that was sent by my friend. Her friend, known as A, went to Luo Hu Commercial City with 2 friends, B and C. Luo Hu Commercial City is known as the Shenzhen counterfeit goods distribution center. There are many people there. It’s also near to the Shenzhen train station and Hong Kong ’s Luo Hu Port. C went to the toilet at the shopping centre while A and B waited outside. After waiting for a long, time they felt uneasy and went into the toilet to look for her. When they went in, there was nobody inside. Both were scared and they called C’s phone. There was no reply. So they reported to the police. The police asked them whether they had seen anybody suspicious going into the toilet. Both said there was none and it’s impossible to bring a person out of the toilet without them noticing! Then A remembered seeing a cleaner pushing a trolley in, and then coming out of the toilet. The police told them that were not the first time such a thing happened there. The police suspected a gang of criminals who were always attacking women in the the toilets of shopping complexes. They use cleaners to kidnap people to harvest their organs for sale. REMEMBER: please be careful when using the toilet. Do not go to the wash room ortoilet ALONE (especially if you are female)! Please at least have a partner with you.