Aries Ryan Phillip Among, 29, made the plea after the charges were read out to him before judge Jason Juga.

He is accused of deceiving and leading a victim to deposit RM8,000 into an account, purportedly as a donation for a sacrificial cow, at 11.46am on June 24 last year.

He is also charged with deceiving the same victim by impersonating as the MACC chief commissioner. This led the victim to deposit RM27,000 into an account supposedly as a contribution for his child’s convocation in Sydney, Australia, and RM14,300 into another account as a loan at 11.22am on June 30 last year.

Aries allegedly committed both offences through WhatsApp at Perumahan Desa Aman, Jalan Kepayan here.

The charge was framed under Section 419 of the Penal Code for cheating by impersonation, which provides a jail term of up to seven years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

He also faces two alternative charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine or both, if found guilty.

The judge allowed bail of RM40,000 and ordered the accused’s passport to be surrendered to the court. Aries paid a bail deposit of RM5,000.

He was also told to report to the Kota Kinabalu MACC office once every two months.

The court fixed Feb 14 for mention.