Singaporean student among duo charged in Johor with offering cop bribe
JOHOR BARU - Two men have been charged at the Sessions Court here with offering a RM90,000 (S$27,580) bribe to a police officer in October.
Law Wen Xiang, 32, and Donavan Sia Qi Xun, 27, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them in Mandarin by the court interpreter before Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail on Tuesday.
According to the charge sheet, the men allegedly offered the bribe to a police officer from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) as an inducement not to take action against Sia, who was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The bribe was allegedly offered at a restaurant in Jalan Suria 19, Taman Suria, here on Oct 17, 2022.
The act, an offence under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, carries a fine of five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, and a maximum jail term of 20 years if found guilty.
The accused were also offered an alternative charge under Section 214 of the Penal Code for giving or offering gratification, read together with Section 34 for a criminal act jointly committed with others, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The case was prosecuted by Mr Ikhwan Ihsan Jalaludin of the MACC and Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Choon Yew, while the accused were represented by Mr K. Veeranesh Babu and Mr Mohamad Isa Mohamad Basir.
During the proceeding, the prosecution asked for bail to be set at RM70,000 for each of the accused, with the additional condition that they report to the MACC office here once a month until the case is over.
Mr Veeranesh, who represented Law, asked for lower bail of RM40,000 and said the accused worked as a mobile phone repairman and had to take care of his 66-year-old mother.
Mr Mohamad Isa, who represented Sia, informed the court that the accused was a student at a college in Kuala Lumpur and his expenses were borne by his parents, who are in Singapore. The Bernama news agency said Sia is a Singaporean.
He also requested bail of RM40,000, adding that his client had to take care of his girlfriend and three-month-old child.
The court then set bail at RM40,000 with one surety for each of the accused, as well as the additional condition.
It also set Feb 19 for next mention. Both accused posted bail. - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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