Family lawyers of late Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed have submitted new evidence to the police that could determine the manner of his death.
Lawyer Ghazali Mohd Ramli said the evidence was submitted on Sunday.
“We hope they will investigate the matter,” Ghazali told a press conference at his law firm here yesterday.
When asked what the evidence was, he said: “We can’t reveal it to the media because we don’t want to jeopardise the investigation.
“However, we believe the clue will be able to determine whether Ahmad Sarbani had committed suicide or not.”
He also questioned Ahmad Sarbani’s motive to go to the MACC building if he wanted to take his own life.
Ghazali said that Ahmad Sarbani was not involved in money laundering.
According to a statement given to the media by the lawyers, Ahmad Sarbani had three cars, a Perodua Kancil, a second-hand Honda CRV, a Proton Persona and a Modenas Kriss bike.
He also owned an apartment in Bukit Tinggi, Klang, worth RM65,872, an apartment in Puncak Alam (RM68,988), a Semi-D cluster house in Saujana Impian in Sungai Buloh (RM230,000) and RM35,000 in savings in Amanah Saham Bumiputra.
”He bought the Semi-D house with a government loan and the savings were from his wife’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which she had withdrawn when she was 50 years old,” said Awtar Singh, another lawyer representing Ahmad Sarbani’s family.
Meanwhile, police have recorded another four statements in their investigations.
“The crime lab is also viewing the CCTV footage taken from the MACC headquarters in Jalan Cochrane as well as the mobile phone belonging to Ahmad Sarbani,” deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Amar Singh told a press conference at the Cheras police headquarters yesterday.
Source : The Star
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
RCI outcome more significant
With the death of another person at the grounds of an MACC building, the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry looking into the death of Teoh Beng Hock becomes even more significant.
THE death of two people either as witnesses or suspects, involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and at their premises, is unacceptable and indicates a deep malaise in the rules and procedures governing the commission when interacting with the public.
Days after the start of a probe into the multi-billion corruption allegations against the Customs Depart-ment, a senior officer was found dead at the commission's new building in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur, an incident very nearly identical to the death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009.
Like the Teoh case, the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed has sparked immediate and intense speculation with numerous politicians, Customs officials, friends and colleagues expressing shock at his death and offering condolences while also speculating on what really happened.
The commission issued a statement that Ahmad Sarbani had arrived at its office voluntarily on a motorcycle to meet the investigating officer and was found missing after the officer left him alone to retrieve some files.
A search found him dead on the ground floor and police forensic units spent over five hours searching the area for evidence.
However, not everybody agrees with the commission's version, just as was the case with the death of Teoh.
Responding to the national angst, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ordered a thorough probe into Ahmad Sarbani's death by the commission and the police while discounting the need for another Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The death of Ahmad Sarbani brings into question once again the many rules and procedure issues that were brought up at the Teoh inquest and currently at the RCI into his death.
One of the RCI's key areas of investigation is to discover how the MACC treats witnesses, how it interacts, the interrogation procedure, the hours and time involved and methods employed.
Essentially, this involves the general management of a person once he or she enters the MACC building.
The commission is also mandated to, besides investigating the MACC's rules of engagement, recommend changes, where needed. This is to ensure that people are safe when interacting with or in the custody of the MACC.
Even if a person is a suspect or a witness, the person's basic human rights must be respected and protected at all times, especially the right to life.
It is the duty of the MACC, as the custodial authority, to ensure that the person is safe. Whether the person is guilty or not is a matter to be determined by a court.
That two people have died indicates that MACC's rules of engagement with the public need an urgent and close inspection and possibly a major overhaul so that people are safe when in its custody.
The moment a person is arrested or asked to appear at the MACC office, that person's welfare and wellbeing is in the hands of the MACC.
As revealed in the Teoh inquest, the movements of witnesses or suspects were not strictly monitored or regulated.
Like all law enforcement authorities, the MACC should understand that life often comes to a standstill when a person is called up or investigated either as a witness or suspect. People holding positions or with a social status are suddenly made vulnerable.
It is well known that sudden changes in social status and comfort and the fear of shame or discovery or punishment renders any person very vulnerable and contemplate an exit like suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
“Everybody is a potential suicide (victim) depending on the degree of vulnerability and the ability to handle it,” said a leading academic and psychologist who spoke on anony-mity.
“The MACC's rules of engagement should understand this vulnerability and mitigate it by strict supervision and other means,” he said.
Ahmad Sarbani's death happened even as RCI was probing the rules and procedures of the MACC in relation to Teoh's death which severely tarnished the commission's image.
The fallout from Teoh's death is still roiling the political establishment.
While the Government has promised that the MACC's corruption probe into the Customs Department will continue, a rattled public also wants to know the truth about how and why Teoh and Ahmad Sarbani had died and more importantly, how to stop such deaths.
With another death, the RCI into the MACC's procedures and rules of engagement is doubly significant because its findings and recommendations could see the creation of a truly effective and a thoroughly professional MACC a commission that the public need not fear or deride but is proud of.
Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY
Source : The Star
THE death of two people either as witnesses or suspects, involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and at their premises, is unacceptable and indicates a deep malaise in the rules and procedures governing the commission when interacting with the public.
Days after the start of a probe into the multi-billion corruption allegations against the Customs Depart-ment, a senior officer was found dead at the commission's new building in Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur, an incident very nearly identical to the death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009.
Like the Teoh case, the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed has sparked immediate and intense speculation with numerous politicians, Customs officials, friends and colleagues expressing shock at his death and offering condolences while also speculating on what really happened.
The commission issued a statement that Ahmad Sarbani had arrived at its office voluntarily on a motorcycle to meet the investigating officer and was found missing after the officer left him alone to retrieve some files.
A search found him dead on the ground floor and police forensic units spent over five hours searching the area for evidence.
However, not everybody agrees with the commission's version, just as was the case with the death of Teoh.
Responding to the national angst, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ordered a thorough probe into Ahmad Sarbani's death by the commission and the police while discounting the need for another Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The death of Ahmad Sarbani brings into question once again the many rules and procedure issues that were brought up at the Teoh inquest and currently at the RCI into his death.
One of the RCI's key areas of investigation is to discover how the MACC treats witnesses, how it interacts, the interrogation procedure, the hours and time involved and methods employed.
Essentially, this involves the general management of a person once he or she enters the MACC building.
The commission is also mandated to, besides investigating the MACC's rules of engagement, recommend changes, where needed. This is to ensure that people are safe when interacting with or in the custody of the MACC.
Even if a person is a suspect or a witness, the person's basic human rights must be respected and protected at all times, especially the right to life.
It is the duty of the MACC, as the custodial authority, to ensure that the person is safe. Whether the person is guilty or not is a matter to be determined by a court.
That two people have died indicates that MACC's rules of engagement with the public need an urgent and close inspection and possibly a major overhaul so that people are safe when in its custody.
The moment a person is arrested or asked to appear at the MACC office, that person's welfare and wellbeing is in the hands of the MACC.
As revealed in the Teoh inquest, the movements of witnesses or suspects were not strictly monitored or regulated.
Like all law enforcement authorities, the MACC should understand that life often comes to a standstill when a person is called up or investigated either as a witness or suspect. People holding positions or with a social status are suddenly made vulnerable.
It is well known that sudden changes in social status and comfort and the fear of shame or discovery or punishment renders any person very vulnerable and contemplate an exit like suicide as a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
“Everybody is a potential suicide (victim) depending on the degree of vulnerability and the ability to handle it,” said a leading academic and psychologist who spoke on anony-mity.
“The MACC's rules of engagement should understand this vulnerability and mitigate it by strict supervision and other means,” he said.
Ahmad Sarbani's death happened even as RCI was probing the rules and procedures of the MACC in relation to Teoh's death which severely tarnished the commission's image.
The fallout from Teoh's death is still roiling the political establishment.
While the Government has promised that the MACC's corruption probe into the Customs Department will continue, a rattled public also wants to know the truth about how and why Teoh and Ahmad Sarbani had died and more importantly, how to stop such deaths.
With another death, the RCI into the MACC's procedures and rules of engagement is doubly significant because its findings and recommendations could see the creation of a truly effective and a thoroughly professional MACC a commission that the public need not fear or deride but is proud of.
Comment by BARADAN KUPPUSAMY
Source : The Star
Ahmad Sarbani would never take a bribe, says family
Family members of late Selangor Customs Department assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed do not believe that the deceased was corrupt.
His younger brother Hassan, 53, said Ahmad Sarbani was a respectable man who would never have taken a bribe.
“My brother was a hardworking and responsible person. We do not believe he was corrupt,” he said when met at the Customs Department quarters in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
He said that Ahmad Sarbani, the eldest of eight siblings, was a happy-go-lucky, friendly and caring person.
Hassan said he and his family were deeply saddened by reports in several dailies claiming that his brother was corrupt.
“Just look at how he lived. Certain media reports claimed he was involved in money laundering and corruption. Then why did he stay at the Customs quarters if he had so much money?” he said.
Hassan also hoped that the media would allow his family to grieve in private.
Source : The Star
His younger brother Hassan, 53, said Ahmad Sarbani was a respectable man who would never have taken a bribe.
“My brother was a hardworking and responsible person. We do not believe he was corrupt,” he said when met at the Customs Department quarters in Kelana Jaya yesterday.
He said that Ahmad Sarbani, the eldest of eight siblings, was a happy-go-lucky, friendly and caring person.
Hassan said he and his family were deeply saddened by reports in several dailies claiming that his brother was corrupt.
“Just look at how he lived. Certain media reports claimed he was involved in money laundering and corruption. Then why did he stay at the Customs quarters if he had so much money?” he said.
Hassan also hoped that the media would allow his family to grieve in private.
Source : The Star
Woman and PKR man plead not guilty in title-for-sale case
A Kelantan PKR division leader and a single mother have pleaded not guilty to graft charges involving RM50,000 as an inducement to obtain a Datukship for a third person.
Self-employed Nor Azimah Jamaludin, 31, pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Rosbiahanin Arifin to receiving a RM50,000 cheque from one Izuldin Hani Mohd Noor as an inducement to obtain for him a Datuk di-Raja title from Persatuan Kerabat Di-Raja Duli Yang Maha Mulia Long Yunus in Kelantan.
Nor Azimah, who was unrepresented, also claimed trial to an alternative charge of cheating Izuldin into handing over the cheque.
Both offences were allegedly committed at a fast-food restaurant in Taman Melati on Dec 8, 2010.
Day in court: Nor Azimah and Mohammad Agos (right) have been charged with accepting monetary inducements to obtain a Kelantan title for a third person.
In a separate Sessions Court, Rantau Panjang PKR chief Datuk Mohammad Agos Mohd Noor, 52, pleaded not guilty before judge Rozilah Salleh to abetting Nor Azimah in both the main and alternative charges.
Both Nor Azimah and Mohammad Agos were granted RM30,000 bail each with one surety and their cases fixed for mention on May 9.
For the main charge under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, they face up to 20 years in jail and a fine of five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
They can also be sentenced up to 10 years in jail and be whipped and fined for the alternative charge under the Penal Code.
In Shah Alam, Nor Azimah also claimed trial in the Sessions Court to two charges of accepting RM150,000 from a businessman, with two alternative charges of deceiving, to secure a similar title last year.
She is alleged to have received a cheque for RM75,000, as an inducement to secure the title, at a cafe in a hotel at Persiaran Raja Muda Musa, Port Klang, on Nov 13 last year.
Alternatively, she is alleged to have deceived Salleh into believing that she could obtain the award whereas it was unlawful under the Kelantan Constitution.
On the second charge, Nor Azimah is alleged to have accepted a cheque for RM75,000 from Salleh as an inducement to do the same thing and at the same place, between Nov 20 and 30 last year.
DPP Muhammad Sinti of MACC, who appeared for the prosecution, applied for the cases to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to be heard with Nor Azimah’s other charges.
Judge M. Bakri ordered the cases to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
Source : The Star
Self-employed Nor Azimah Jamaludin, 31, pleaded not guilty before Sessions Court judge Rosbiahanin Arifin to receiving a RM50,000 cheque from one Izuldin Hani Mohd Noor as an inducement to obtain for him a Datuk di-Raja title from Persatuan Kerabat Di-Raja Duli Yang Maha Mulia Long Yunus in Kelantan.
Nor Azimah, who was unrepresented, also claimed trial to an alternative charge of cheating Izuldin into handing over the cheque.
Both offences were allegedly committed at a fast-food restaurant in Taman Melati on Dec 8, 2010.
Day in court: Nor Azimah and Mohammad Agos (right) have been charged with accepting monetary inducements to obtain a Kelantan title for a third person.In a separate Sessions Court, Rantau Panjang PKR chief Datuk Mohammad Agos Mohd Noor, 52, pleaded not guilty before judge Rozilah Salleh to abetting Nor Azimah in both the main and alternative charges.
Both Nor Azimah and Mohammad Agos were granted RM30,000 bail each with one surety and their cases fixed for mention on May 9.
For the main charge under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, they face up to 20 years in jail and a fine of five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
They can also be sentenced up to 10 years in jail and be whipped and fined for the alternative charge under the Penal Code.
In Shah Alam, Nor Azimah also claimed trial in the Sessions Court to two charges of accepting RM150,000 from a businessman, with two alternative charges of deceiving, to secure a similar title last year.
She is alleged to have received a cheque for RM75,000, as an inducement to secure the title, at a cafe in a hotel at Persiaran Raja Muda Musa, Port Klang, on Nov 13 last year.
Alternatively, she is alleged to have deceived Salleh into believing that she could obtain the award whereas it was unlawful under the Kelantan Constitution.
On the second charge, Nor Azimah is alleged to have accepted a cheque for RM75,000 from Salleh as an inducement to do the same thing and at the same place, between Nov 20 and 30 last year.
DPP Muhammad Sinti of MACC, who appeared for the prosecution, applied for the cases to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to be heard with Nor Azimah’s other charges.
Judge M. Bakri ordered the cases to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
Source : The Star
RM2mil in account of ex-director
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has traced millions of ringgit more in the accounts of Customs Department officers, including at least RM2mil in the account of a retired Customs director.
Sources said the task force investigating the case believed a well-known forwarding company had banked the money into the account of the retired director for favours granted while in office.
They said more officers living beyond their means had been identified.
“Efforts are under way to freeze their accounts. Investigations have intensified as more information pertaining to the illegal activities has surfaced.
“There is not going to be any slowing down as the information showed several billions of ringgit are still out there.
The sources said the task force, despite being “attacked” by various quarters following the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, who was found dead at the MACC headquarters here on Wednesday morning, would not let up on their investigations.
The sources said several teams were continuing their probes in other states and did not rule out more arrests.
MACC, together with several other agencies, had arrested over 60 senior Customs officers and seized millions of ringgit, gold bars and other valuable items such as luxury cars and watches from them.
The raids were conducted at several ports nationwide especially in Penang, Port Klang, Kuantan, Johor and Sabah following information that syndicates with their tentacles in many organisations had siphoned out more than RM10bil via tax evasion and money-laundering.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah said initial findings into the death of Ahmad Sarbani showed that his injuries were consistent with a fall from a height.
He said police had received the post-mortem report and sent the findings to the crime laboratory for further analysis.
“The lab should conclude its analysis by the end of next week. We have also recorded statements from six MACC officers to facilitate investigations,” he said at the city police headquarters yesterday.
Source : The Star
Sources said the task force investigating the case believed a well-known forwarding company had banked the money into the account of the retired director for favours granted while in office.
They said more officers living beyond their means had been identified.
“Efforts are under way to freeze their accounts. Investigations have intensified as more information pertaining to the illegal activities has surfaced.
“There is not going to be any slowing down as the information showed several billions of ringgit are still out there.
The sources said the task force, despite being “attacked” by various quarters following the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, who was found dead at the MACC headquarters here on Wednesday morning, would not let up on their investigations.
The sources said several teams were continuing their probes in other states and did not rule out more arrests.
MACC, together with several other agencies, had arrested over 60 senior Customs officers and seized millions of ringgit, gold bars and other valuable items such as luxury cars and watches from them.
The raids were conducted at several ports nationwide especially in Penang, Port Klang, Kuantan, Johor and Sabah following information that syndicates with their tentacles in many organisations had siphoned out more than RM10bil via tax evasion and money-laundering.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah said initial findings into the death of Ahmad Sarbani showed that his injuries were consistent with a fall from a height.
He said police had received the post-mortem report and sent the findings to the crime laboratory for further analysis.
“The lab should conclude its analysis by the end of next week. We have also recorded statements from six MACC officers to facilitate investigations,” he said at the city police headquarters yesterday.
Source : The Star
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