KUALA LUMPUR: Former Youth and Sports Ministry finance division secretary Otman Arsahd has been sentenced to 15 years' jail and fined RM284.2 million for 96 counts of corruption and money laundering.
Sessions Court judge Kamarudin Kamsun meted out the sentence this morning, after earlier finding Otman guilty of all charges.
On 17 counts of power abuse and submitting false claims under Section 18(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009, Kamarudin sentenced Otman to between 11 and 15 years in jail, and fined him RM190 million, in default 119 months in jail.
On the remaining 15 counts of power abuse and submitting false claims under Section 23(1) of the same Act, Otman was sentenced to between two and nine years in jail and fined RM10.8 million, in default 125 months in jail.
Meanwhile, for all 64 charges of money laundering under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, Kamarudin sentenced Otman to between three months and 11 years in jail, fined him RM83.4 million, in default 934 months in jail.
The judge ordered Otman to serve jail sentence concurrently, starting today.
Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Otman, applied for a stay of execution pending Otman's appeal to be filed in the High Court soon.
Kamarudin allowed the application, with condition that Otman pay an additional RM300,000 bail with another one surety, on top of the RM250,000 bail with one surety he had posted when he was charged in 2016.
Muhammad Rafique pleaded for the court's discretion, to allow Otman to pay RM100,000 as bail today, and the remaining RM200,000 on Monday (July 10), on account that Otman has not had any source of income since he was charged in 2016, and that he has been depending on his family.
Rafique also submitted that Otman had been cooperating well with the court throughout the case.
Kamarudin allowed the application.
He also allowed Deputy Public Prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh's application to confiscate 119 of Otman's belongings, to be handed over to the government.
Otman was charged on March 31, 2016, with 32 counts of abuse of power and submitting false claims involving RM38.4 million at the National Sports Council Office (MSN), Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex here between Feb 28, 2012 and Nov 18, 2015.
On April 2016, Otman was charged with 64 counts of money laundering involving some RM16.6 million between March 2012 and December 2015.