JOHOR BARU – Four assistant enforcement officers of the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) and a company owner were charged in the sessions court here today with corruption and submitting false information in the meat cartel case.
Two of the officers – Mohd Hafizan Khalid, 44, and Nor Azlan Mat Suki, 40 – and the company owner, Abdul Latif A. Rahman, 55, pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read out separately before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.
The other two other personnel – Mohammad Sofyan Mohd Zin, 27, and Khairul Izat Sulaiman, 31 – pleaded guilty to the charge made against them.
The court set 2.30pm today to sentence them.
Hafizan was alleged to have received RM2,500 in gratification from an individual to release a container carrying frozen meat that arrived from a country not recognised by the Veterinary Department, belonging to Syarikat ZS Armin Sdn Bhd.
He was charged with committing the offence at a restaurant here in December 2016.
Nor Azlan was charged with five counts of accepting gratification amounting to RM37,000, for allegedly doing the same as Hafizan at a restaurant here between February and April 2017.
The charges against them were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
Latif was charged with two counts of submitting documents with false information in the declaration forms for imported goods. with the intention of deceiving the principal agent between October 5 and November 9, 2020 at Wisma Kastam, Tanjung Pelepas Port.
The charge was made under Section 18 of the MACC Act, which also provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
He was also charged with two alternative charges of submitting false information under Section 471 of the Penal Code, which provides imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, or both, if found guilty.
Meanwhile, Sofyan and Khairul were charged with accepting RM30 and RM100 in gratification on October 5 and November 10, 2020, respectively, to expedite documents and physical examination of consignments at the Maqis office at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, Iskandar Puteri.
They were charged under Section 25(1) of the MACC Act and face a maximum fine of RM100,000, or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both, if found guilty.
Hafizan and Nor Azlan, represented by lawyers Mohd Razak Sharif and Peter Tan respectively, were allowed bail of RM7,000 in one surety each, while Latif, represented by lawyer S. Vijaya, was allowed bail of RM8,000 with one surety and ordered to surrender his passport to the court.
Sofyan, who was ordered to appoint a lawyer, was allowed bail of RM5,000 with one surety.
Their cases have been fixed for mention on June 29.
MACC deputy public prosecutors Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and Suhaili Sapun prosecuted in all the cases. – Bernama, May 23, 2021
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