FORMER Dewan Negara Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Mohamad pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court in Ayer Keroh today to a charge of accepting a luxury vehicle as a bribe in 2015.
The charge was read before Judge Elesabet Paya Wan, to which the 61-year-old responded by denying any wrongdoing.
According to the charge sheet, Mohamad Ali is accused of corruptly receiving a Range Rover Sport from a company director as an inducement for awarding subcontract works related to a coastal reclamation project in Kota Laksamana.
The alleged offence took place at the company’s office in Taman Kota Syahbandar, within the Melaka Tengah district, in June 2015.
He is charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of no less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib requested that the bail conditions imposed by the Shah Alam Sessions Court during a previous arraignment on 18 June be retained. These include bail of RM60,000 with one surety, the surrender of the accused’s passport to the court, and a prohibition from contacting any prosecution witnesses until the case concludes.
Ahmad Akram also applied for the earlier Shah Alam case to be transferred and heard jointly with the new charge in Ayer Keroh. The defence, represented by lawyer Md Yunos Shariff, did not object to the application.
The court set 14 August for case mention.
On 18 June, media reports stated that Mohamad Ali had pleaded not guilty at the Shah Alam Sessions Court to 20 charges involving cash bribes totalling RM235,000 and three luxury vehicles, all linked to the same Melaka reclamation project. - June 26, 2025
