SHAH ALAM: A former police Lance Corporal was jailed one day and fined RM6,000, in default six months jail, by the Sessions Court today for accepting RM3,000 to free a foreign detainee from lock-up two years ago.
Judge Datuk Anita Harun meted out the sentence on S. Kabilann after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
The charge sheet read that he had accepted the monies, which he was aware was linked to his official duties, through his bank account from a 47-year-old man.
He committed the offence at a bank in Kapar, Klang on Dec 13, 2022.
The offence under Section 165 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine or both upon conviction.
According to the facts of case, Kabilann who was then stationed at the Shah Alam district police headquarters central lock-up, told the man that the case could be resolved.
He had also put fear in the man that the detainee could be jailed for several years for an offence of fighting with weapons.
On Dec 13, 2022, Kabilann contacted the man and asked for RM3,000 to be transferred into his bank account and the detainee would be freed on the same day.
Earlier, in mitigation, Kabilann, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a light sentence as he has two children.
He said he had been terminated from the force and has been working as a part-time car-park attendant.
Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin asked the court to impose a heavy penalty on the accused.
"I ask the court to take into consideration that at the time of the incident, the accused was a civil servant.
"He was given the trust (to discharge his duties) and he abused it.
"I ask the court to mete out a punishment to serve as a lesson to him," he said.