Pinoy, German sentenced for traveler's checks scam in Malaysia

A Filipino and a German were sentenced to several months in jail in Malaysia on Friday last week after pleading guilty to charges of cheating,and possession of stolen travelers' checks. German Alexander Sinowenka, 50, was sentenced to 30 months in jail while Filipino Tomas Diaz, 65, was sentenced to 18 months, Malaysia's The Star news site reported. The two had been charged with with 206 counts of dishonestly retaining stolen travelers' checks. The report said the two were unrepresented when they appeared before the court. Deputy public prosecutor Noor Aishah K.M. Abu Bakar did not offer bail, saying it was a serious offense and the accused were foreign nationals. The investigation showed that both men committed the offenses in a room at City Hotel, Jalan Raja Laut. Sinowenka claimed that "people in the Philippines" urged him to commit the crime for a 10-percent commission. On the other hand, Tomas said he needed money for the treatment of his prostate cancer, The Star reported. Earlier this week, a separate report on The Star said it took the court interpreter nearly an hour to go through the 227 charges lodged against Sinowenka and Diaz. Some of the charges lodged against the two were:

• seven counts of trying to cheat bank officer Hanafi Kahar, 35, at the Maybank branch in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman on March 3, and
• six counts of trying to cheat bank officer Adli Othman, 37, at the Maybank branch in the KL Sentral departure hall last March 4.

Under Section 420/511 of the Malaysian Penal Code, such acts are punishable by a maximum of 10 years' in prison or a fine. Meanwhile, the report said Diaz was charged separately with five counts of dishonestly retaining stolen travelers' checks at a police booth in KL Sentral. Sinowenka was charged with illegally possessing three fake passports under the aliases Rangel Cid Proenca Jose Nuno, Fruehauf Herman J.K, and Pilip Ponte. - VVP, GMA News