SHAH ALAM: A Myanmar national claimed trial at the Sessions Court today to a charge of bribing an Immigration Department officer with RM5,650 to allow nine of his countrymen into Malaysia without going through checks.
The accused, Pho Cho, 37, who has lived in Malaysia for 18 years, made his plea before judge Datuk Anita Harun.
The father of two was charged with bribing the officer at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 as an inducement to release nine people without undergoing the necessary procedures.
He is alleged to have committed the offence at 3.55pm at Medan Selera Indah Puteri in Kampung Baharu Lanjut, Sepang, on Oct 31 last year.
The offence under Section 16(b) (B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 is punishable under Section 24(1) of the act, which provides for 20 years' jail and a fine not less than five times the bribe sum or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin did not offer bail as the offence is non-bailable.
"He is a foreigner and involved in an offence related to the entry of foreigners.
"We are not offering bail as this is an immigration offence related to national security and we cannot compromise on this.
"If the court allows bail, it will jeopardise investigations into the syndicate. We ask the court to enforce a gag order on the witnesses named in the charge."
In mitigation, defence lawyer Ungku Imran Athari said his client, a first-time offender, promised not to abscond and was ready to surrender his passport and to regularly report to the MACC office.
"He wants to clear his name. Whether he is a foreigner or a citizen, it is not a criteria to be considered for bail.
"I have no objection on the gag order suggested by the prosecution."
Anita set bail at RM70,000 with one surety. She ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the court and to report to the MACC office in the first week of each month.
The court allowed the gag order application and set Sept 30 for case mention.
Pho was among 12 people arrested in connection with a people smuggling syndicate.
The arrested included five enforcement agency officers who were allegedly paid off to let foreigners into the country without proper checks or documentation.
The suspects were picked up in an MACC swoop on Aug 20 in the Klang Valley, Kelantan and Penang.