KANGAR: A senior police officer, holding the rank of Assistant Superintendent, was charged at the Sessions Court here today with two counts of accepting RM12,000 in bribes related to a criminal investigation he conducted in 2019.
The accused, K. Poobalan, 46, acknowledged the charges and pleaded not guilty before Judge Norsalha Hamah.
The investigation in question involved a rape case from the Timur Laut district in Penang.
According to the first charge, Poobalan, serving as an investigating officer at the Timur Laut district police headquarters, is accused of receiving RM6,000 from Muhammad Solahuddin Ismail, 42, the brother of Mohd Hafiz Ismail, 44.
The money was reportedly transferred through a Maybank account. Hafiz was implicated in the investigation reported at the Datuk Keramat police station in Penang.
The alleged bribe was said to have occurred at Maybank's Padang Besar branch on April 24, 2019.
For the second charge, Poobalan is accused of accepting an additional RM6,000 from Solahuddin via the same Maybank account in connection with the same investigation. This transaction allegedly took place at the same branch on May 15, 2019.
The charges are framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for a penalty of up to two years in prison, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The prosecution is led by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer Noor Aura Zulkiflee, while the accused is represented by two lawyers who declined to be named.
The court set bail at RM10,000 with one surety, which the accused subsequently posted.
The case is scheduled for mention on Oct 4.