Loh, who was assemblyman for Telok Datok, now known as Banting, pleaded not guilty to both charges before judge Mohd Sabri Ismail.

He was accused with deceiving his principal by using allocation withdrawal approval documents and a working paper on the 2015 Telok Datok Teachers’ Day celebration which contained false information for the disbursement of RM13,380 despite knowing that the programme was not implemented.

Loh, 41, was also charged with deceiving his principal by using allocation withdrawal approval documents and a working paper on the 2015 Telok Datok lantern festival programme which contained false information for the disbursement of RM20,000 despite knowing that the programme was not carried out.

The offences, framed under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, were allegedly committed at the Kuala Langat district office on June 8, 2015 and Sept 23, 2015, respectively

If found guilty, he faces imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of false claims, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Sabri allowed Loh to be released on bail of RM40,000 with one surety for both charges, and set Feb 25 for mention.

Loh, represented by lawyer Keppy Wong, was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.

Deputy public prosecutor from the MACC, Mohamad Suffian Ja’afar, prosecuted.

Loh’s membership in DAP was terminated in 2016 over accusations that he had misused state funds allocated for his constituency.