Nwaokorie Chikezi Patric, 41, a diploma in tourism student at a private college, claimed trial after the charges were read out in English before Judge Nurul Mardhiah Mohammed Reza who acted as magistrate in the case.

According to the charges, the accused, along with a man who is still at large, cheated a 59-year-old headmistress by tricking the woman into depositing RM141,262 into a bank account belonging to Adzatul Natasyah Adnan, 27, via online transfer to claim the accused’s father’s inheritance worth RM2.4 million which does not exist.

All the offences were allegedly committed at a school here between Feb 4 and March 4, under Section 420 of the Penal Code which carries imprisonment for up to 10 years, whipping and a fine, if convicted.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Yong Ching Hong applied for a RM10,000 bail with two local sureties on grounds that the accused is a foreigner.

“Please impose additional conditions on the accused, namely to surrender his passport to the court and report himself to the nearest police station,” he said.

Defence counsel M Tharuma Ratnam, in mitigation, said: “My client is married to a Malaysian and has two children. He also cooperated with the police throughout the investigation.”

The court allowed bail at RM72,000 with two local sureties for all charges and ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court until the disposal of the case.

The court set June 4 for mention.