KUALA LUMPUR – Company director Datuk Seri Sim Choo Thiam, who is facing four counts of soliciting and accepting bribes amounting to RM15 million to secure projects from the Home Ministry, has filed a notice to set aside the charges.
In the notice filed two days ago at the sessions court, he is seeking to be discharged but not amounting to an acquittal on all the charges.
Sim, 53, claimed that the public prosecutor as the respondent had breached their statutory obligations under Sections 153 and 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and that the investigation into the case is incomplete.
The businessman is also seeking the respondent to submit to him a written statement of facts that is in favour of the defence as provided under Section 51A (1)(c) of the CPC within seven days from the date of the court order.
Sim was charged with committing the offences on May 10 this year, during which he pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Last June 28, sessions court judge Rozina Ayob fixed 10 days for the hearing to be held next year.
Sim was charged with soliciting a RM15 million bribe from Hep Kim Hong, the managing director of Asia Coding Centre Sdn Bhd, through Syed Abu Zafran Syed Ahmad, as an inducement for the then home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin to award projects to the company.
He was also charged with three counts of accepting RM15 million in bribes from the same individual as an inducement for Hamzah to do similar things.
The offences were allegedly committed at two different locations: Shaas Holdings office and a parking lot at Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1 here, between June and July 2021.
The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, which is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act, which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction. – Bernama, July 6, 2023
