SHAH ALAM – Two policemen with the ranks of lance corporal and constable were sentenced to 10 days’ jail and fined RM5,000 each by the Shah Alam sessions court today after pleading guilty to an optional charge of accepting a bribe from a Thai man in December 2019.
Judge Rozilah Salleh ordered both the accused, Shaiful Rizal Osman, 36, and Muhammad Zuhair Mazlan, 28, from the narcotics division of the Sg Buloh district police headquarters to serve two months’ jail if they fail to pay the fine.
Rozilah reprimanded both of them for blindly following orders, saying that as police personnel, they should be able to think whether the instructions they received from their superiors were against the law or not.
“You should not blindly follow orders. You can follow good orders; otherwise, you do not have to follow them. You should report if someone asks for bribes, not join them,” she said.
According to the optional charge, Shaiful and Zuhair were charged with receiving RM3,000 in cash from one Nordin Chebueraheng without any consideration on December 24, 2019, between 3.40am and 4am, in relation to their official duties as police personnel.
They were accused of committing the offence at the narcotics division of the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department, Sg Buloh district police headquarters, Kg Baru Subang police station, under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both.
While pleading for leniency earlier, lawyers Muhammad Amirul Jamaluddin and Mohd Redzuan Mohamed Yusoff said the accused were merely following orders from their superiors.
Muhammad Amirul said the accused were not involved in asking for bribes from Nordin but were instructed to take and keep the bribe money, and fear of being reprimanded had forced them to commit the offence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Fadhli Ab Wahab urged the court to impose an apt punishment as it involved the public interest and should serve as an example to other public servants to steer away from corruption. – Bernama, January 11, 2021
