Doha: A Malaysian, who pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, was sentenced yesterday to a three-year jail term followed by deportation. It is the first case of its kind after a law was passed in 2004 to punish credit card fraudsters.
So Soon Teck, 38, a cook who entered Qatar on a visit visa, had admitted to possessing and using cloned credit cards, forging signatures and defrauding a local jeweller of QR12,000 (Dh12,105) worth of goods.
The man was part of a gang of five Malaysians arrested on November 19 last year after the new Anti-Economic Crimes Department (ACD) acted on tip-offs set in motion by the local commercial bank's credit card fraud department.
The five, who were caught in two locations, had in their possession a total of 165 cloned credit cards which, they admitted, they had used to buy goods worth QR296,835 (Dh299,000) from 11 shops. ACD investigators later arrested another two Malaysians suspected of similar crimes.
Guilty plea
Under Qatar's new criminal code, So risked a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a fine of QR10,000 (Dh10,088). However the judges took into consideration So's guilty plea and the payment of QR12,000 to the jeweller involved in the fraud.
"This is the first time we have tried credit card crime, and also the first time we have tried a Malaysian national in our court," Justice Salah Al Sharif was reported by a local journalist as saying.
The other members of the gang were said to be still under trial.
Since the establishment of the ACD in July last year, more than 10 groups made up of 25 suspects belonging to 13 nationalities have been arrested.
They include 17 suspects, who are believed to have withdrawn some QR800,000 (Dh806,916) using 213 forged cards.
