KUALA LUMPUR – Five Finance Ministry personnel were fined between RM1,500 and RM2,000, in default of three months' jail, by the Sessions Court here today after they pleaded guilty to failing to report offers of bribes to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The five civil servants are the first to be charged with the offence in this country.
Assistant accountants, Azad Fadhmi Abdul Rahman, 34, and Madiyana Mamat, 39, as well as administrative assistant Nurul Ashikin Zulkaflee, 33, were fined RM1,500 each, while two other accused, assistant administrative officer, Mohd Fairus Hussin, 38, and assistant accountant, Siti Nurkhairunnisa Adnan, 32, were each fined RM2,000.
Before sentencing, judge Manira Mohd Noor advised all accused not to repeat the offence as, even with a small amount involved, their future could be ruined.
The five were alleged to have been offered bribes of between RM200 to RM600 to expedite approval to obtain Bumiputera status to five companies through the e-Procurement system, a violation under the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694).
The offences were committed at the company registration unit, Finance Ministry procurement division in Putrajaya between May 2018 and June this year.
In accordance with Section 25 (1) of the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694), and punishable under Section 25 (2) of the same Act, the offence provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000 or a maximum jail term of 10 years or both upon conviction.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutors Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and R. Francine Cheryl urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, taking into account the accused were the first individuals to be charged in court under the provision.
However, counsels Mohd Shahrullah Khan Nawab Zadah Khan and Muhamad Aizat Fakri representing all the accused appealed for a fine not exceeding the emoluments they receive each month and without imprisonment, for fear that a heavy penalty could cause their clients to lose their jobs.
"They are their family’s main breadwinner and they have given their word that they will report on any offers of graft to the authorities after this," said Aizat. – Bernama, December 2, 2020
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