Fourteen men, aged between 21 and 38, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before magistrate Fatinah Abu Bakar.

They were charged with having moneylending business cards without permission and various ATM cards belonging to third parties at a homestay in Perumahan Galing here at 7am on Sept 23.

The charge is framed under Section 29AA of the Moneylenders Act 1951, which provides up to a two-year imprisonment or a maximum penalty of RM20,000 or both upon conviction.

Fatinah allowed RM4,000 bail with one surety for each of the accused and set Nov 2 for re-mention and submission of documents.

Meanwhile, Fatinah ordered restaurant worker Nicholas Tee Shen Yi, 23, and mechanic Tan Tat Theat, 28, to pay the maximum fine of RM1,000 or a month’s jail after they pleaded guilty for failing to provide a satisfactory explanation on how they owned 197 business cards and a bunting related to moneylending.

They committed the offence at a house in Taman Indera Mahkota 21 here at 7.05am on Sept 23. The offence is punishable under Section 29(1) of the Minor Offences Act 1955, which carries a maximum RM1,000 fine or a maximum of one year jail, or both, upon conviction.

In the meantime, four men aged between 25 and 44 pleaded not guilty before magistrate Ainis Abu Hassan Shaari to a charge of helping a loan shark to offer misleading loans at a house in Taman Sega here at 7.15am on the same day.

The charge is framed under Section 29AA of the Moneylenders Act 1951.

Ainis allowed RM4,000 bail with one surety for each of the accused and fixed Oct 27 for mention.

Deputy public prosecutors Aini Adilah Muhammad Faizal, Siti Aisyah Abdul Wahab and Wan Azreen Wan Zaid prosecuted the cases while all the accused were represented by Badrulzaman Abu Bakar and Zaharman Zainal Abidin.