KOTA KINABALU – A Sabah state civil servant and a government retiree claimed trial in the sessions court here today to 34 charges of abetting and accepting bribes amounting to RM780,000 between July 2014 and November 2015.
Zulfikar Khomeini Asli, 44, and the retiree, Mat Salleh @ Awang Sapong Sapong, 67, made the plea before judge Jason Juga.
According to the charges, Zulfikar Khomeini, then an auditor at Sabah’s Finance Ministry, agreed to receive a bribe for himself through a money transfer via cheque from Kilang Sawit Bell Sdn Bhd at a bank in Sipitang.
The money was transferred into an account of Syarikat Lihot Construction belonging to his mother, and Syarikat Sri Atussin Enterprise, which belongs to his younger sibling.
It was as an inducement for Zulfikar to not conduct spot checks at Kilang Sawit Bell for allegedly falsifying a state sales tax return form.
The charges were framed under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
As for Mat Salleh @ Awang Sapong, then an administrative assistant at the state Finance Ministry, he was charged with abetting Zulfikar Khomeini in committing the act.
He was charged under Section 28(1)(c) of the same law, read together with 17(a) of the same law.
Both of them face imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
The two men were allowed bail of RM80,000 with two sureties each and ordered to surrender their passports to the court, as well as to report themselves at an MACC office once in two months.
The court set July 17 for mention.
Zulfikar Khomeini was represented by lawyer Hamid Ismail, while Mat Salleh @ Awang Sapong was represented by lawyers Azhier Farhan Arisin and Mohd Syarulnizam Mohd Salleh.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Izzati Sapifee prosecuted. – Bernama, May 23, 2023
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