SHAH ALAM: A professor with the title Datin from Universiti Teknologi Mara's Sungai Buloh campus today claimed trial to 18 charges of submitting RM38,000 worth of salary claims for non-existent research work three years ago.
Professor Datin Dr Hapizah Md Nawawi, 64, made her claim after the charges were read out before Sessions Court judge Datuk Anita Harun.
She was accused of conspiring with Amirah Mohd Ariff, 28, to commit the offences under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act (MACC) with intention to deceive her principals, who are three treasurers and an assistant accountant.
She allegedly made monthly research assistant salary payment claims from March 2021 to Sept 2022 for works titled "Mechanism of Drone-assisted Technology on Efficiency of Mass Disaster Victim Identification" with false details for research work that was never conducted and she was aware it was to mislead the principals.
She allegedly committed the offences at the campus from April 2021 to October 2022.
The offences are under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act and punishable under Section 24(2).
Each offence carries a maximum 20-year jail term and a fine not less than five times of the false claim sum or RM10,000, or whichever higher upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin said offences under the MACC Act were non-bailable but he urged the court to set bail at between RM20,000 and RM30,000 with one surety for the accused.
As additional conditions, he said the accused must surrender her passport to the court, report to the MACC office monthly and not harass prosecution witnesses.
In mitigation, lawyer Shamsul Sulaiman said his client, now a lecturer on a contract basis, was not a flight risk and her husband, a government pensioner, would post bail. "I apply for her bail sum to be fixed at between RM10,000 and RM20,000 with one surety.
"I ask for her passport not to be impounded because she travels to overseas a lot to attend conferences to present research papers," he said.
Anita set bail at RM30,000 with one surety."I feel she is not a flight risk. There is no order on the need for her passport to be surrendered to the court.
"But she needs to report to Selangor MACC within the first week of the month and it must not exceed the 7th.
"She must not harass or contact prosecution witnesses," she said.