Thursday, February 28, 2013

Woman Gets Jail For Trying To Bribe TM Officer

A former Alcatel Network (M) Sdn Bhd regional customer account leader was jailed two years and fined RM125,000 by a Sessions Court here after she was found guilty of bribing a Telekom Malaysia assistant manager in 2006.
 
Sessions Court judge Rozilah Salleh ruled that the defence had failed to establish doubt and ordered Radziah Ani, 51, to be jailed eight months if she failed to pay the fine.

She ordered the sentence to run from yesterday.

“I find her defence was a mere denial, inconsistent and unreasonable,” she said yesterday.
However, the court granted a stay of the jail sentence pending appeal in the High Court. The fine was allowed to be paid until March 8.

Radziah was found guilty of bribing assistant manager Mohd Asri Idris, 42, with a RM25,000 bank cheque dated Feb 15, 2006 as payment to supply information about the tender.

The charge sheet stated that the information was “for the supply of Wideband Code Division Mulitiple Access Mobile Communications System and the Provision of Works Phase II”.
She committed the offence at a hotel in Jalan Sultan Ismail between 1pm and 2.30pm on Feb 17, 2006.

A total of nine prosecution witnesses and four defence witnesses testified in the trial.
Zulqarnain Hassan from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commi­ssion prosecuted while Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Sarah Maalini Abishegam defended.

In mitigation, Muhammad Shafee said his client should not be prosecuted on grounds that she had denied her involvement.

Source : The Star

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Health Inspector Faints After Being Found Guilty Of Accepting Bribe

A health inspection assistant officer from the Johor Baru Central Municipal Council fainted after the Sessions Court here found her guilty of accepting a RM500 bribe some three years ago.
 
K. Kalaiselvi, 31, who was standing in the dock , fainted after Judge Mohd Haldar Abdul Aziz found her guilty.

The accused, who has a heart condition, had to be carried out by a man who was believed to be her husband.

Mohd Haldar adjourned the proceeding for about 10 minutes to allow her to receive medical attention.

When court resumed, Mohd Haldar sentenced Kalaiselvi to a year’s jail from the date of the prosecution and fined her RM10,000 in default of six months’ jail. She paid the fine.

Mohd Haldar allowed a stay of execution to allow Kalaiselvi to appeal against her sentence.
Kalaiselvi was charged with receiving the amount from businessman Lim Chai Lee on Aug 6 in 2010 at around 2.45pm along Jalan Besi 1 at Taman Sri Putri in Skudai as an inducement not to take action against Lim’s business premises, Seven Eight Reflexology and Therapy, under Section 107(2) of the Local Government Act.

That section states that any licence or permit given out is subject to any additional conditions or restrictions which the local authority thinks fit. Failure to comply could result in the licence or permit being cancelled without the need to provide a reason.

Kalaiselvi was charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and a fine not less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, or whichever is higher.

MACC prosecution officer Mohd Faizal Sadri prosecuted the case while lawyer T. Vijaya Sendran represented Kalaiselvi.

Source : The Star

Friday, February 22, 2013

Four Immigration Officers Jailed, Fined For Bribery

Four Immigration officers, who were formerly based at the South Port shipping division in Port Klang, were found guilty by the Sessions Court here of accepting bribes to allow Indonesians to enter Malaysia. 

Azmir Mahadi, 30, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and fined RM50,000 for five counts of accepting RM3,810 from one Azizul Hakim Salehuddin at Affin Bank in Port Klang near here between Aug 15, 2010 and Aug 22, 2010.

Azmir was acquitted and discharged of one charge of accepting RM920 from Azizul at the same place on Aug 28, 2010.

Ahmad Zahed Abd Alim, 30, was jailed six years and fined RM120,000 for 12 charges of accepting RM13,590 from Azizul at Maybank in Bukit Tinggi, Klang near here between July 26, 2010 and Aug 28, 2010. 

Mohd Hafiz Zakaria, 29, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and fined RM55,700 for four counts of accepting RM8,690 from three men at the CIMB Bank in Port Klang, at the Pandamaran Immigration quarters in Klang and at Eon Bank in Port Klang between Sept 25, 2010 and Sept 30, 2010, respectively.

Mohd Khairul Haqimie Kamarudin, 28, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and fined RM14,000 for accepting RM2,650 from Azizul at Maybank in Bukit Tinggi, Klang on Aug 28, 2010.

Mohd Khairul was acquitted and discharged of two other charges of accepting RM700 and RM4,000 from Azizul near Restoran Moden, Simpang Kudrat in Klang on Sept 28, 2010.

Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah granted a stay of execution of the sentences and conviction pending an appeal to the High Court. Bail was increased to RM10,000 each. - Bernama 

Source : The Star

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Contractor Gets 10 Years' Jail For Taking Bribe To Help Businessman Get Datuk Seri Title

A contractor was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined RM50,000 after a Sessions Court here found him guilty of soliciting and receiving bribe as an inducement to help a businessman obtain a Datuk Seri title.
 
Mohd Amirul Erwan Mohd Raslan, 36, was sentenced to five years in jail and RM25,000 fine for each of the two counts he was convicted of.

However, he will only serve five years in jail as judge Mat Ghani Abdullah ordered for the jail time to run concurrently.

He was found guilty of asking for RM5,000 from businessman Mohamad Imran Abdullah at Grand Kampar Hotel in Perak on Feb 2, 2009.

He was also convicted of receiving the RM5,000 at Holiday Villa Hotel in Subang on Feb 4, 2009.

The money was an inducement for Mohd Amirul to help Mohamad Imran's businessman friend Lim Kok Han obtain a state medal from Perak that carries the title Datuk Seri.

His friend Mohd Afandi Mohd Zambri, 45, was also found guilty of receiving RM1,000 for the same purpose at the same hotel in Subang on Feb 19, 2009.

Mohd Afandi, who was unemployed, was sentenced to five years in jail and fined RM5,000.

Both men, however, were acquitted and discharged on a joint charge of receiving a cheque worth RM25,000, allegedly an inducement for the same purpose, after the Sessions Court found their defence has proven a reasonable doubt in that charge.

The court allowed for a stay of execution on the sentences. 

Source : The Star

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Court Upholds Behrang Assemblyman’s Acquittal for Corruption

Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and two other men walked free today after the Court of Appeal here today upheld their acquittal for corruption.
 
A three-member panel led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif unanimously dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld their acquittal.

Justice Raus said after considering the submissions forwarded by the prosecution and defence, the court was of the view that the High Court judge did not make any error in law when making his decision and that he had given his reasons for acquitting them.

“There is no reason to alter the decision of the High Court,” said Justice Raus, who presided on the panel with Justices Datuk Mohtaruddin Baki and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh.


The prosecution was appealing against the acquittal of Jamaluddin (picture), 57, former Perak Tengah district councillor Zul Hassan, 51, and businessman Fairul Azrim Ismail, 35, and also former Bota assemblyman Usaili Alias, 61 (on four corruption charges).

The Court of Appeal panel also upheld the decision of the High Court to acquit Usaili on four charges of receiving bribes. However, he is not cleared yet as he has been ordered by the High Court to enter his defence with respect to three other corruption charges.

Outside the court, Jamaluddin told reporters that he accepted the decision of the court.
On what he would do after this, Jamaluddin said he would continue to serve the people in his constituency as long as the Perak state assembly was not dissolved.

He said he was still an independent Perak state assemblyman and had not decided whether to join Barisan National, adding that he also needed to think on whether to contest in the election.
On April 23, 2010, the Ipoh Sessions Court acquitted the four and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Jailu without their defence called.

They were charged with 10 counts of accepting and asking for bribes over a RM180 million housing development project in Seri Iskandar near Ipoh.

They were alleged to have committed the offences at the office of the Perak state secretary,  Restoran Kluang Station Cafe in Medan Istana, Bandar Ipoh Raya here, and Aquarias Restaurant & Bar, Level 4, Summit Hotel, Bukit Mertajam, Penang, between August 14 and 19, 2008.

Zul and Fairul were also slapped with charges of sex bribes when they allegedly accepted the sexual services of Chinese nationals at Sri Sayang Apartment (Seaview Agency) in Jalan Batu Ferringhi, Penang, on August 14, 2008.

A sixth person, former Perak Development Corporation technician Ruslan Sahat, was also charged but died in late 2008 and charges against him were dropped.

The Ipoh High Court on April 22 last year dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld the acquittal of Jamaluddin, Zul and Fairul but ordered Osman to enter his defence.

The High Court also upheld Usaili’s acquittal on four charges of receiving bribes. However, the High Court ordered Usaili to enter his defence with respect to three other corruption charges. 

— Bernama

Source : The Malaysian Insider

Monday, February 4, 2013

Dr Pornthip Ready To Do Sugumaran’s Second Autopsy, Say Lawyers

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand has agreed to perform a second autopsy on security guard C. Sugumaran who allegedly died from a police beating, Sugumaran’s family lawyers said today. 

Dr Pornthip is the Thai forensic pathologist who had observed Teoh Beng Hock’s second post-mortem and testified at a royal inquiry that foul play was likely involved in the DAP aide’s mysterious death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Selangor headquarters in 2009.


“On behalf of the family, we have urgently written to the prime minister, health minister and the director-general of the Health Ministry to issue the necessary authorisations for Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand (picture) to conduct the second post-mortem on Sugumaran’s remains,” said Sugumaran’s family lawyers N. Surendran and Latheefa Koya in a joint press statement.

“We have no objection to a government pathologist being allowed to observe the procedure. We call upon Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak and the other relevant authorities to respond immediately to this request, as the family are unable to carry out the last rites until the second post-mortem is concluded,” they added.

Najib ordered a forensic report last Thursday on Sugumaran after the latter’s death was raised at a Cabinet meeting.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was directed to oversee the forensic report after MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, who is also a minister in the PM’s Department, had raised the security guard’s death during the Cabinet meeting.

Several witnesses who saw Sugumaran collapse on a street near his home in Batu 12, Hulu Langat on January 23 have accused the policemen who arrested him of beating up the man after he was handcuffed.

The police have denied the allegations.

Sugumaran’s death joins a list of other alleged police killings like the custodial deaths of Chang Chin Te earlier this year; A. Kugan and R. Gunasegaran in 2009; the deadly police shooting of 14-year-old schoolboy Aminulrasyid Amzah in 2010, and various other fatal police shootings in the past two years.

A United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 2010 visit to Malaysian prisons and detention centres reported in 2011 that between 2003 and 2007, “over 1,500 people died while being held by authorities.”

The Bar Council, civil society and several politicians from both sides of the divide have called for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to reform the police force since 2006.

Source : The Malaysian Insider