MELAKA: A chief administrative assistant with the state Education Department was among two people charged at the Sessions Court here today with six counts of accepting RM27,100 in bribes and abetment from an advertising company.
Yusmawati Mohamad Yussop, 48, and Rosni Leman, 61, who was previously the deputy director of the department, pleaded not guilty when they were separately charged with committing the offence.
According to the charges, Yusmawati was accused of accepting valuable items totaling RM27,100 from Syarikat Pusat Pengiklanan Prisma manager Ong Ah Siong, 60, despite being aware of the work connection between the company and the department.
She was accused of committing the offences at the Melaka Tengah district on five separate occasions between March 7, 2022 and Feb 9 last year.
Yusmawati was charged with committing the offence under Section 165 of the Penal Code which stated that it is an offence for a public servant to accept or obtain any valuable items from any person who has any connection with his or her official duties.
Meanwhile, Rosni, who has retired from the department, was charged with abetment with Yusmawati.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Azriff Firdaus Mohamad Ali proposed the court to impose RM10,000 bail with one surety for each of the accused.
He also asked the court to instruct the accused to report to the Melaka MACC office once a month until the disposal of the case.
Both of the accused, who were unrepresented, pleaded for leniency on the grounds that both of them are single mothers with children under their care.
Judge Elesabet Paya Wan later granted Azriff's request and fixed Aug 12 for submissions of documents and case management.