Student fined K1,200 for presenting bogus cheques

A MAN charged with passing valueless cheques at a college in Lae has been fined K1,200 and could face eight months in jail.
Magistrate Pious Tapil in the Lae District Court imposed the fine, being K300 for each of the four charges of being in possession of valueless cheques, on John Umba, 30, of Kerowagi, Chimbu.
Umba first appeared before court on April 18.
The court stated that if the fine was not paid within three months Umba would be imprisoned for eight months.
“Let this be a warning to other students that this is illegal and should not be practised by anyone.”
Police alleged that Umba registered as a student at Kumul Training Institute on March 14.
The police hand-up brief stated that Umba and other students had used bogus cheques to pay for their school fees claiming it had come from their sponsor and local MP.
The school management became suspicious because the funds were paid individually and not as a single cheque from the sponsor which was usually the practice.
The court noted that on April 12 the school’s registrar informed the director that K10,000 had been paid into the school account however the director found out that no such amount had been paid.
Umba was reported to the police and later arrested.