SHAH ALAM: Four assistant superintendents from the Customs Department were charged at the Sessions Court here with 49 counts of receiving bribes totalling RM39,800.
Mohd Rizal Othman, 43; Mohd Hanafie Che Mat, 39; Mohd Shahril Mohd Sukaimi, 39; and Alias Mat Yusop, 48, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read separately before judge Datuk Anita Harun.
Rizal was charged with nine counts of receiving bribes totalling RM15,350 between Feb 16, 2017, and April 10, 2017.
Hanafie was charged with 10 counts of receiving bribes totalling RM12,600 between June 14, 2020, and Jan 23, 2023.
Shahril faced 26 counts of receiving bribes totalling RM8,450 between April 9, 2018, and April 22, 2023.
Alias was charged with four counts of receiving bribes totalling RM3,400 between June 16, 2019, and July 20, 2022.
All the offences were allegedly committed at branches of banks in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), Bandar Puchong Jaya, Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, and Kajang.
They allegedly received the bribes from a 38-year-old company owner through online bank transfers as an inducement not to inspect the company's lorries transporting goods from KLIA Cargo.
They were charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years or a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The prosecution was conducted by Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir, Nurul Atiqah Mohamad Alias, and Maziah Mohaide.
The court allowed Rizal and Hanafie to be released on bail of RM15,000 each, Shahril was granted bail of RM10,000 and Alias was granted bail at RM8,000.
All accused were ordered to surrender their passports to the court and report to the MACC office in Putrajaya at the beginning of each month.
They were also prohibited from contacting or harassing prosecution witnesses.
The court set July 11 for the case management and document submission for all accused.
MACC had said on Monday that 23 Customs officers and personnel would be charged in six sessions courts nationwide by June 6 following their arrests during Op Samba 2.0.
The operation, which ran from March 11 to 25, focused on those working at KLIA Cargo and detected a tax-evasion racket among Customs officers and company owners that evaded paying RM2 billion in duties on items like alcohol and tobacco.