SEREMBAN: Three Customs Department enforcement officers pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to six counts of accepting bribes totalling RM7,150.
Earizal Mohd Khalid, 43, Ngu Su Siew, 35, and Mohamad Izuwan Mohd Ali, 32, made the plea after the charges were read separately before Judge Tuan Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi
Earizal was charged with three counts of accepting bribes in stages with a total value of RM2,950 between May 28, 2017, and March 3, 2018, at a bank branch in Kuala Pilah, while Ngu was charged with one count of accepting bribe amounting to RM3,000 on Dec 20, 2022, at a bank branch in Nilai.
Mohamad Izuwan was charged with two counts of accepting bribes totaling RM1,200 between Aug 23, 2019, and March 31, 2020, at a bank branch in Nilai.
They are accused of corruptly accepting bribes from a company by transferring money online to their respective bank accounts as an inducement to not inspect the company's lorries ferrying goods from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Cargo terminal.
They are charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same law which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years or a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutors Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir and Maziah Mohaide appeared for the prosecution while lawyer Helmi Hassan represented Earizal and lawyer Adhwa' Afiqah Mohd Azmi represented Ngu and Mohamad Izuwan.
The court allowed all of the accused bail of RM6,000 in one surety each and ordered them to surrender their passports to the court and report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office.
The accused are also not allowed to contact and disturb prosecution witnesses until the disposal of the case and the court set July 12 for remention.– BERNAMA