Appeal Over Umrah Package Fraud Rejected, Former Director Sentenced to Five Years

A former Malaysian travel company director lost his final appeal against convictions for defrauding an umrah consultant and mutawwif, but the Court of Appeal cut his prison sentence in half. Misbahalmunir Omar, 60, will now serve five years instead of 10.

A three-judge panel led by Datuk Azman Abdullah rejected the appeal against his convictions. The panel, which also included Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid and Datuk Dean Wayne Daly, ruled that the magistrate’s findings were correct and supported by the evidence.

The case involved 23 charges under Section 420 of Malaysia’s Penal Code. Prosecutors said Misbahalmunir, then managing director of Raudhah Mawaddah Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd., deceived umrah consultant and mutawwif Amzari Halim while collecting money from 202 participants for an umrah group and travel to Egypt.

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In our view, the charges brought against the appellant were not defective and provided sufficient notice for him to defend himself

The 56 transactions totaled RM434,250. The money went into accounts belonging to the accused’s family members, employees and related companies, without disclosure that the travel company had been wound up. The offenses took place in Kedah, Johor and Selangor between November 2, 2015, and January 28, 2016.

The High Court in Sungai Petani had upheld the original 10-year sentence in April 2024. In reducing the punishment, the appeal panel said the charges were clear and properly notified the accused, but found merit in the sentence appeal after considering public interest and aggravating and comparative factors.

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The imprisonment term of 10 years for each charge from the date of conviction is set aside and replaced with imprisonment for five years for each charge starting today