Returning the loot to thieves
- the law is an ass...
Supposing I am a crook who has stolen billions from the people. In my possession, I have luxury goods, jewels and hard cash in currencies of different countries which runs into millions.The long arm of the law caught up with me and my wife. They took away part of the wealth we had accumulated and both have been indicted on several criminal offences and the state has filed civil suits seeking the return of the riches so that it can be added on to its coffers.
In the meantime, the government seeks to forfeit all those ill-gotten riches. So, they go and seek an order from the court so that they get to keep what they had seized. But the court said that the onus is on the claimant, in this case, the state to prove that I accumulated all the wealth from illicit and illegal activities.
Although it is common knowledge that the wealth was not inherited and neither could I have earned that kind of money during our working lives, the court then tells the state: “Please produce evidence to show that the money was the proceeds from something illegal.”
For a good measure, it meant that if you can’t show proof, they can get to keep everything. Does it mean criminals can keep their loot while the victims weep in pain and suffering? Yes, something like that.
If you are just an ordinary joe with no titles, status or position – past or present – could it be a different story? What if you don’t have a battery of lawyers and the money to fight the forfeiture order? But before that, probably a public parade in purple or orange for the TV cameras would be the start, and perhaps a week or so incarcerated with food and boarding paid by the state.
But wouldn’t any anti-corruption body use its powers to ask you to declare your source of income? Or will the taxman come after you asking you to pay your portion of the wealth in your possession? If you are a politician, you can always plead: “Your honour, it was a political donation meant for the party.”
Isn’t the law an ass?
What is the matter with our court/judiciary?
Mysterious deposits
Mr A had about RM1 million in a bank in a foreign country and the source of that money was and still remains a mystery. The money was deposited in small amounts (for whatever reasons) through cash deposit machines that are dotted around that country. Those who deposited the money were unknown to him and bank officials and as the account starts to swell, an alert bank manager calls the cops.
“I say, mate, there’s some fishy business going on. We are getting dribs and drabs of money and it is being deposited anonymously to one single account. It looks suspicious and could be money laundering,” says the banker. The account is flagged and the incessant flow of money continues and is keenly watched. A check on the systems shows that Mr A is a senior police officer in his country.
So, a polite note is exchanged between the police chiefs of the two countries. It simply said: “Can you get Mr A to come over and explain things? We just want to elucidate some answers to these mysterious deposits.”
The media in both countries go to town with the story and hopefully, get some truthful answers. The silence became deafening but Mr A’s boss says: “He had explained everything to us. He has a son studying there and opened an account there and the money in that account are proceeds from the sale of his house.”
But isn’t it the usual and proper practice for the buyer to get his solicitor to send the money to his solicitor, who will, in turn, deposit the money in Mr A’s bank account? But when did he buy the house and where did the money come from? No one knows and the mystery can only be solved if Mr A opens his mouth.
But Mr A didn’t. Neither did he travel or offer any other plausible explanation, and interestingly, he just allowed the money to be forfeited. The parting shot was: “I don’t need it. You can keep my money.”
If it was ordinary joe, there would have been an extradition process, he would be strutted in handcuffs through the offices to the courts and probably put on the next flight, and arrested and charged upon disembarkation for money laundering. But no, there are different strokes for different folks.
Isn’t the law an ass? - R.Nadeswaran,mk
Clinics sell ‘vaccinated’ status
without Covid shots for RM1,600...
Unvaccinated people can pay certain clinics RM1,600 to have their status changed to fully vaccinated without having to take the Covid-19 shots, The Malaysian Insight discovered.
The “upgrade” is accessible via Telegram chat. To join the chat group, one must send to the group administrator a screenshot of one’s unvaccinated status on MySejahtera.
The group, which has 137 members, will inform the clinic to set up an appointment. Each clinic offers only 10 appointment slots.
“Those who have received their appointment for Saturday, please do not scan your MySejahtera anywhere two days before your appointment,” said the administrator of the group earlier this week. It is believed that the appointments mentioned are at a clinic in Puncak Alam, Selangor.
In another update, the administrator said the service was only available at certain clinics in Johor Baru for now. “Ten slots (are) available in JB. Others are temporarily closed. Things are heating up in KL, Klang and Seremban so at the moment we do not have slots in these three places,” it said.
“Clinics prefer cash and not online transactions. The location of the clinics will be provided directly to those with appointments.” It is learnt that these clinics do not dispense the jab during the appointments but will only upgrade the person’s status to vaccinated.
Last month, The Malaysian Insight reported on a similar service where one could pay RM3,000 for a fully vaccinated status. Payments were made directly to people with backend access to the MySejahtera app and deals were made through secure messaging apps such as Telegram.
A businessman with a “Datuk” title, who was not vaccinated, told The Malaysian Insight that he paid “someone in the Health Ministry” RM3,000 for a “fully vaccinated” status on MySejahtera.
In August, police began investigating the sale of fake digital Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Last month, screenshots of a post on Telegram offering different types of vaccination certificates for RM1,500, RM400, and RM200 were widely shared on social media.
The government has virtually made Covid-19 vaccination compulsory by allowing only those who are fully dosed to dine in restaurants, stay in hotels, cross state borders, and travel overseas without applying for permission.
The Malaysian Insight has spoken to the group administrator to ask if the Sinovac vaccine certificate offered by the clinics was genuine. The administrator said the people who had paid for the certification had yet to complain about being cheated.
“The certificate is genuine and can be used anywhere. If this were a scam, people in the group would have complained,” the admin said. Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Abdul Jalil Hassan has been informed of the Telegram group. Police have vowed to look into the matter.
More than 22.4 million people, or 95.7% of the adult population, have had the full course of Covid-19 jabs. The CovidNow website also showed 97.8% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine. – TMI
cheers.
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