Couple who ran religious school in court for second time in two months over embezzlement charges

A Klang court charged a couple who ran a tahfiz (Islamic religious school) with fund misappropriation today, slapping them with five charges between the two of them.

Ahmad Shukri Ghazali, and his wife, Zunairah Awang, had been working as the chairman and principal at the Maahad Tahfiz Al-Ghazaly in Sungai Udang when police reports against the duo were filed in three different police stations, raising suspicions over how they were running the financial aspects of the school.

While the 47-year-old husband is facing three charges, his 38-year-old wife faces two.

One of the charges leveled at both individuals pertains to the embezzlement of RM17,000 (US$4,000) intended to be put towards sending a Nur Irfan Zikry Mohd Azizan to Turkey to further their studies. The offence was committed at a Klang-area branch of CIMB Bank between November 18, 2018 and February 29, 2019.

A second similar charge was filed against the pair after they were accused of misappropriating another RM17,000 that was intended to send Luqman Hafiz Mohamad Jamil to Turkey to study. The couple are alleged to have committed this offence at the Klang Agrobank.

A third charge against Ahmad Shukri accuses him of embezzling another RM9,600 (US$2,300) that was given with the intent of purchasing flight tickets to Turkey. This offence is alleged to have taken place at a Maybank in Klang.

Masquerading as educators whilst stealing from the funds of your students and school carries a maximum prison term of five years, a whipping and fines on each charge.

The pair have several children, and their lawyer asked the courts for leniency when setting bail, as they needed to take care of them. He asked that the courts set it at RM3,000 (US$700) and RM4,000 (US$1,000).

However, the courts did not see it fit to set the bar for bail so low, and instead ordered an RM9,500 bail for the husband, while his wife’s was set at RM6,000.

And if you’re wondering why the courts may have not taken too kind for calls of leniency, we’re here to let you know that this wasn’t the first time the two were accused of stealing money intended for religious education and utilized it for their own gain. Last month, the pair faced three charges pertaining to an RM50,600 (US$10,400) embezzled from the school.