Phnom Penh Municipal Court tried a businesswoman yesterday for allegedly issuing five fake cheques in 2012.

Presiding judge Kor Vandy said businesswoman Var Sina, 40, was accused of issuing five cheques worth more than $560,000 in April 2012 to purchase three bulldozers and one excavator in Phnom Penh for business purposes.

According to the plaintiff’s lawyer, Chhy Sambath, Sina purchased the machines for just over $621,000 from his client, Afred Kasuma Aliwaga, 38, a Malaysian national and owner of United Mercury Group.

As part of their sales contract, Sina paid some of the money to Aliwaga and issued the cheques from her Acleda Bank account to cover the remainder, Sambath said.

“But when my client took these five cheques to get the money from Acleda Bank, there was no money in her bank account. She has cheated my client,” Sambath said, adding that his client asked the court to “strongly punish her according to the law”.

The vendor took the matter to court and is demanding $100,000 in compensation as well as the sum still due from the alleged fake cheques.

According to Sina’s lawyer, Nou Chantha, she froze her bank account because Aliwaga did not respect the contract’s one-year service guarantee. Within a month of use, the machines broke down, but the company refused to make amends for the damage.

Chantha added that the four vehicles were already confiscated by Aliwaga. He asked the court to drop charges.

A verdict is expected to be delivered on May 8.