KUALA LUMPUR – A 51-year-old man was fined RM1,000 for impersonating the Johor police chief in an attempt to deceive an enforcement officer into releasing 11 individuals under custody.
Ganasean K. Ananda pleaded guilty to impersonating M. Kumar on May 6 at around 8.35pm, after the charge sheet was read out to him this morning before magistrate Atiqah Mohamed @ Mohamad Saim at the courts complex here.
The magistrate also ordered Ganasean, who works as a building manager, to serve a month in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
Ganasean was charged under Section 416 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum of five years in jail, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The case facts show that the Customs Department officer, who is the complainant in the case, received a call from Ganasean, who introduced himself as the Johor police chief, and demanded the release of 11 detainees, for which he offered RM1,500 in payment for each detainee.
During mitigation, deputy public prosecutor Nadia Eleena Jamaluddin Akbal requested that the court impose an appropriate sentence to serve as a lesson to both the accused and the public.
She also said that Ganasean’s offence should not be taken lightly, given that he impersonated a police officer, especially one of high rank, for personal gain.
However, Ganasean’s lawyer, S. Narasimhan, appealed to the court for a minimal fine, citing the defendant’s responsibility for supporting his five children.
He also said that the accused was genuinely remorseful, regretted his actions and had pledged not to commit the offence again. – May 13, 2024