KUALA LUMPUR – A Pakistani man, who was detained in ‘Op Selat’, was today sentenced to 30 days’ jail and fined RM10,000 by the sessions court here for giving a RM12,500 bribe to an immigration officer to help release 21 foreigners to leave the country, last month
The sentence was handed down to Muhammad Irfan, 34, after he pleaded guilty to the offence today.
Judge Rozina Ayob ordered the accused, a cloth trader, to serve another 30 days jail if he fails to pay the fine.
Muhammad Irfan admitted to giving the RM12,500 bribe to an immigration officer attached to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) entry point control unit, Sepang, in exchange for the release of all the foreigners so that they could return to their countries without any legal action taken against them for overstaying in the country.
The offence was committed in a car in front of a restaurant at Jalan P8G1, Precinct 8, Putrajaya between 3.25pm and 3.32pm, on November 16. The offence under Section 214 of the Penal Code (Act 574) carries a maximum jail term of 10 years, or a fine or both.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat said the accused was lucky to have been offered an alternative charge, but public interest needs to be considered.
“The case involves national security and the accused dared to put himself on the line for the process of releasing 21 illegal immigrants who had overstayed in the country. A jail term and a fine should be meted out to the accused as a lesson to him and as a message to other would be offenders out there, which reflects the seriousness of the offence committed by the accused,” said Mahadi.
Pleading for leniency, Muhammad Irfan who was unrepresented said he was the sole breadwinner of the family with four children and that his wife had just given birth two days ago. He added that he had still not settled his child’s birth registration matters.
According to the facts of the case, on November 15, the accused contacted an Immigration officer acting as an undercover agent via WhatsApp requesting his help to release the 21 foreigners and offered him the bribe.
Investigations also found that the accused was an agent for foreigners and had been carrying out this activity since October.
Meanwhile, in a different Sessions Court, a Bangladeshi, Ahmmed Md Rana, 37, was charged with giving a bribe of RM8,500 to the same immigration officer, to release eight of his countrymen to return to their country of origin without any legal action taken against them for overstaying in Malaysia.
The offence was allegedly committed at the same place and on the same date between 6.10pm and 6.15pm. The offence under Section 17 (b) of the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694) is punishable under Section 24 (2) of the same act which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, was also charged with alternative charges involving the same offence at the same place, time and date, under Section 214 of the Penal Code (Act 574).
However, no plea was recorded as the accused did not understand the charge that was read to him in Bahasa Malaysia.
The court allowed the accused to be released on a RM10,000 bail with the bailor being a Malaysian pending the re-reading of the charge against the man by a Bangladeshi interpreter next Monday.
On November 28, the media reported that 65 people comprising 39 Immigration officers, 17 agents and nine civilians were detained in ‘Ops Selat’. The operation was mobilised by MACC in collaboration with the Immigration department to eradicate corrupt syndicates misusing entry and exit stamps to allow illegal immigrants to cross the country’s borders. – Bernama, December 11, 2020
