Politician’s son claims trial to cheating senior cop by posing as MACC bigwigs

KOTA KINABALU: A politician’s son who allegedly hoodwinked a top police officer into giving him almost RM50,000 has been charged with cheating at a Special Corruption Court here.

Aries Ryan Philip Among, 30, was accused of pretending to be Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, among others, to get the policeman to part with RM14,300 as a personal loan and RM27,000 as a gift to attend Azam’s child’s convocation in Australia.

Aries, the son of former Sabah STAR leader Philip Among, pleaded not guilty to the charges under Section 419 of the Penal Code for cheating by impersonation before judge Jason Juga on Wednesday (Jan 10).

The accused, who communicated through WhatsApp to commit the act, also pleaded not guilty to two alternative charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code for cheating.

On the first count, Aries, a businessman, was accused of deceiving the senior police officer into sending RM8,000 to a bank account after pretending to be MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahya.

The accused convinced the policeman to deposit the money in an account under another name, claiming it was a contribution for “lembu korban” (sacrificial cattle).

He was accused of committing the act at a bungalow at the Sabah police contingent headquarters in Kepayan at 11.46am on June 24.

For the second charge, Aries was accused of pretending to be Azam through WhatsApp and cheating the same policeman of RM41,300 at the same bungalow at 11.22am on June 30.

The accused allegedly convinced the officer to deposit RM27,000 into a bank account under another person’s name, as a contribution to attend the convocation in Sydney.

The accused subsequently convinced the policeman to bank in another RM14,300 to him as a loan.

The court then fixed Feb 14 for case management and granted the accused bail of RM40,000 with a RM5,000 deposit and one local surety.

Pending disposal of the case, he was also ordered to report to the MACC once every two months and surrender his international passport to the court.

The court also instructed the accused not to tamper with witnesses.

DPP Nurul Izzati Sapifee appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by counsel Muhamad Amirul Amin.