Jail and rotan for businessman who tricked director into paying over RM360,000 for AED supply

On September 18, a businessman named Datuk Seri Azraie Jamaludin was sentenced to 14 months in prison and one stroke of the cane after pleading guilty to defrauding a company director out of RM361,150 for an automated external defibrillator (AED) supply project. In a session at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur, Judge Azrul Darus ordered the 49-year-old businessman to serve his sentence immediately.

Azraie, along with an unidentified accomplice, was charged with deceiving Lim Wei Xiang, a 35-year-old individual, into believing that he had the ability to secure an AED supply project. This deception led Lim to deposit the substantial sum of RM361,150 into Azraie's bank account at ZAJ Empire Resource. The crime took place at a golf club in Kuala Lumpur between August 12 and October 22, 2024, and violated Section 420 of the Penal Code, which allows for imprisonment ranging from one to ten years, whipping, and a fine upon conviction.

According to the case facts, Lim was introduced to Azraie by a mutual acquaintance who claimed that Azraie had connections with various government agencies and could secure a RM5 million project to supply AED units for the Health Ministry. Believing this offer, Lim handed over the money by depositing it into Azraie's bank account. Azraie, who was unrepresented in court, requested a lenient sentence, citing that he was supporting his family and has a heart condition requiring ongoing treatment.