KOTA BHARU (June 10): A former assistant accountant at Al Quds Umrah and Tours (M) Sdn Bhd was sentenced to five years in prison and 13 strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court here on Monday for committing 11 counts of criminal breach of trust amounting to RM149,000 two years ago.

Muhammad Khairi Ismail, 31, had earlier pleaded guilty to all 11 counts when the charges were read to him before Judge Nik Habri Muhamad.

He was charged with committing the offences between Sept 29, 2022 and Jan 25, 2023, totaling RM149,000 at Wisma Al Quds, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, here.

All the offences were committed by transferring entrusted funds from the company's MBSB Bank account to his Maybank account for personal use.

Muhammad Khairi was charged under Section 408 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment for a term of less than one year and not exceeding 14 years with whipping, and may also be liable to a fine, upon conviction.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Faiz Fitri Mohamad, while the accused was represented by lawyer Norizaidah Abdul Salam.

Earlier, in mitigation, Norizaidah pleaded for a reduced sentence on the grounds that her client and his eldest brother had to support four younger siblings who were still studying and elderly parents who were unwell.

Nik Habri advised the accused against repeating similar mistakes and urged him to reflect on his actions.