TAWAU: An assistant general manager of a gold mining company was charged at the Tawau Sessions Court today with four counts of receiving a total of RM230,000 believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities between 2021 and 2023.
The accused, Brando Pang Tze Chiang, 50, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before Judge Ahmad Faizadh Yahaya.
According to the first and second charges, Brando allegedly received RM55,000 and RM40,000 from the account of Kedai Emas Sri Hawa into his Public Bank Berhad account at the Damansara Utama branch between April 17, 2021, and October 28, 2021, as well as between May 5, 2022, and February 2, 2023.
For the third and fourth charges, he was accused of receiving RM75,000 and RM60,000 into his Hong Leong Bank account at the Tawau branch during the same periods.
All the funds were allegedly proceeds from illegal activities transferred from a Maybank Islamic Berhad account belonging to Kedai Emas Sri Hawa (Registration No. 201203115233/CA0185325-P).
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613), which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount involved or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Megat Mahathir Megat Tharih Afendi appeared for the prosecution, while Vivian Thien Shin Ying represented the accused.
The court fixed December 2, 2025, for mention of the case.
