KOTA KINABALU – A civil servant was charged in the sessions court here today with 16 counts of accepting bribes, amounting to RM45,000, from a palm oil company, between September 2016 and January 2017.
The accused, Zulfikar Khomeini Asli, 44, who is Sabah Finance Ministry’s state sales tax enforcement unit head pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to him before judge Jason Juga.
For the first to fifth charges, the accused is alleged to have received bribes amounting to RM20,000 from the manager of a palm oil company, which was deposited into his account at the Maybank branch, Jalan Haji A. H. Tengah, Sipitang, on September 20, 2016.
As for the sixth to 16th charges, the accused is alleged to have received bribes, amounting to RM25,000, from the same factory manager and the money was deposited into the same bank, between January 2 and 7, 2017.
He is also alleged to have failed to report the money to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which is an offence under Section 25(1) of the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694), and can be punished under Section 25(2) of the same law.
The court allowed the accused bail of RM25,000 in one surety, and fixed February 15 for mention. – Bernama, January 18, 2023
