Kuching banker gets seven years’ jail, 16 lashes after draining client accounts via DuitNow

Kuching, Malaysia — A 39-year-old relationship manager at an international bank received a sentence of seven years' imprisonment, a RM40 million fine, and 16 lashes through the cane for defrauding eight senior citizens and laundering money, according to the Sessions Court in Kuching on September 3. Judge Iris Awen Jon ruled in favor of the prosecution after Kho Yung Kang pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud and eight counts of money laundering.

The fraudster defrauded eight senior citizens, aged between 60 and 75, of RM1.58 million by promoting a non-existent bond investment scheme, and laundered money within the bank between September 2022 and February 2024. The court imposed concurrent sentences for each of the 16 charges of cheating, ranging from three to four years' imprisonment and one stroke of the cane.

For the eight money laundering charges, Kho was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, with a fine of RM5 million or four months' jail if he failed to pay the fine.