A former employee of a travel agency has been charged with cheating in relation to a case involving Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar.

Tim Lu Yeu Huat was charged on Aug 20 at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

When contacted, Kuala Lumpur commercial crime investigation department head ACP Izany Abdul Ghany confirmed this.

'The suspect was arrested on Aug 19 in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur and charged the next day. He subsequently posted bail, which was fixed at RM15,000," he told Malaysiakini.

According to Izany, the court had fixed Sept 15 for mention of the case.

If found guilty, Lu could face a jail term of at least one year and not exceeding 10 years, whipping and also be liable to a fine.

It is said that the former manager with Global Holiday Sdn Bhd had allegedly collected a sum of money from Khalid for the air tickets but did not pay the company.

Previously, Global Holiday had sued the police chief and his wife over the business class air tickets from Kuala Lumpur to London and back amounting to RM41,868.

Besides the ticket price, Global Holiday also sought eight percent in interest from the date the summons was issued and also other costs and relief deemed appropriate.

'Victims of a third party'

On Wednesday, the agency's lawyer M Moghan told Malaysiakini that his client had withdrew its suit after both parties agreed to resolve the matter out of court.

He said his client withdrew the suit after an amicable settlement was reached, but refused to reveal the terms of settlement.

NONEA source close to the case had said the matter was solved amicably after "the plaintiff realised that both they and Khalid were victims of a third party."

In his reply to the suit, Khalid had claimed that he purchased the tickets in 2007 from a ticketing agent at a discounted price, as these constituted part of the discounted tickets quota meant for Malaysia Airlines employees.

He claimed that the proceedings were initiated with malicious intent and that the action was an abuse of court proceedings.

Khalid said that he faced embarrassment as his colleagues and subordinates perceived him to be a dishonest and unprincipled person.

He said that the claims made against him was meant to insinuate that he had:

  • bought the tickets without paying;
  • enjoyed the benefits at the plaintiff's expense; and
  • behaved inappropriately as a police officer.

Khalid had filed a counter-suit for compensation, damages, immediate relief, legal fees and post-judgment interest of eight percent from the start to the end of the trial.

Previous reports
Withdrawn - 'unpaid tickets' suit against S'gor CPO
S'gor CPO sued for 'unpaid' tickets