A close friend of Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed told the Coroner’s Court that the deceased had confided in him that he was snapped at and insulted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers, and had described the lock-up where he was held overnight a few days before his death as “hell on earth”.
Customs assistant director Azman Jusoh said Ahmad Sarbaini had told him on April 3 that the MACC officers had yelled at him and told him he was not “fit to wear his (Customs) uniform”.
“He told me he had kept quiet and looked at all the officers because he wanted to recognise them, and then one of them shouted at him: ‘Samseng, nak gaduh ke?’ (Gangster, do you want to fight?).
“He also told me that he did not tell his wife this because he did not want her to worry,” Azman said in his testimony yesterday.
Azman, who called Ahmad Sarbaini his “close friend and tennis partner”, said they first met at a “tennis clinic” in 1998 and had been good friends since.
“We played tennis about three times a week,” he said.
He also told the court that Ahmad Sarbaini had called him at work at about 5.30am on April 6 and said he wanted to meet him to hand over cartons of mineral water and soft drinks for a tennis event.
When asked if it was unusual for Ahmad Sarbaini to call so early in the morning, Azman replied, “Yes”.
He added that his friend had looked a little stressed out when they met that morning.
Another witness, Customs senior assistant director Ahmad Maher Abd Jalil told the court that Ahmad Sarbaini had told him he admitted to taking the bribes because he was afraid he would be locked up again.
“I asked him why he had confessed to taking the bribes (on April 4), and I told him that it was wrong to make an admission if he did not actually take a bribe.
“He told me he ‘takut lock-up’ (afraid of the lock-up). The last thing he told me was: ‘Tak ada apa-apa tuan, tak payah takut. Berani buat, berani tanggung’ (It’s nothing, no need to be afraid. One must be responsible for one’s actions),” Ahmad Maher said.
He added that Ahmad Sarbaini said many people slept together in the lock-up on the cement floor, and that the toilet was far from satisfactory.
Ahmad Maher also described how Ahmad Sarbaini had told him he did not take the RM30 as accused, as it did not commensurate with his designation as a Customs assistant director.
Ahmad Sarbaini, 56, who was attached to the Port Klang Customs office, was found dead on the first floor of the MACC building on April 6.
He was reported to have gone to the commission’s office to meet the investigating officer assigned to corruption cases involving 62 customs officers.
The inquest continues today.
Source : The Star
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