Five anti-narcotics policemen charged with taking bribes

KOTA KINABALU: An inspector and four other policemen attached to the anti-narcotics department were charged at the Kota Kinabalu Special Corruption Court here on Friday (Oct 15).

The five accused, who allegedly received bribes totalling RM8,020, pleaded not guilty to the charges before Sessions judge Abu Bakar Manat.

According to the charges, they allegedly accepted the bribes as an inducement not to take action against a man under the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985.

The first accused, Inspector Joevian Gubal Michael, 41, who was attached to the Narcotics Division of the Kota Belud district police headquarters, faced four charges of accepting a bribe of RM2,400.

Money from the alleged bribe was deposited into his bank account between Nov 16 and Dec 17, 2017.

The second accused, Sjn Azizul Ismail, 32, is facing four charges of accepting a bribe of RM900.

Azizul, who was also attached to the Kota Belud district HQ, is accused of receiving a bribe that was put into his personal bank account between April 24 and July 30, 2017.

A third accused, L/Kpl Hairul Amid, 36, who was with the Sabah Police headquarters in Kepayan here, faces five charges of receiving bribes totalling RM2,000 into his bank account between Aug 11, 2017 and June 9, 2018.

The fourth accused, L/Kpl Afizul Azwan Anuar, 29, who worked at the Kota Belud district HQ, faces four charges of accepting a bribe of RM470 between April 13 and May 6, 2017.

The fifth accused, Kpl Abdullah Bakir, 44, also with Kota Belud district HQ, faces 18 charges of accepting a bribe of RM2,250 between April 14, 2014 and Oct 1, 2015.

The court allowed Joevian and Hairul bail of RM10,000 along with a RM4,000 deposit.

For Abdullah, it allowed RM10,000 bail but with a RM5,000 deposit and a local surety. He was also ordered not to approach witnesses.

Azizul was allowed RM8,000 bail with a deposit of RM4,000 while Afizul Azwan was allowed RM10,000 bail with a RM3,000 deposit and a local surety.

Judge Abu Bakar then ordered all the accused to report once every two months to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

They were also instructed to surrender their passports to the court.

The court set next mention on Nov 24 for the cases of all five accused.

Sabah MACC deputy prosecutor Nurul Izzati Sapifee led the prosecution while the accused were represented by their respective lawyers.