Sergeant pleads not guilty over RM20k bribe

JOHOR BARU: A police sergeant has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to accepting a RM20,000 bribe as an inducement to release a woman from an investigation.

S. Usha Nanthiny, 35, made the plea after the charges were read to her before Sessions judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman yesterday.

According to the charge sheet, the accused, who was attached to the Segamat police headquarters, received RM20,000 in cash.

The money was received from a man as an inducement for the accused not to arrest the man’s wife, who was being investigated under Section 408 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.

The offence was allegedly committed at Usha Nanthiny’s office in the Commercial Crime Investigation Department at 4.50pm on Aug 28, 2022.

The charge was framed under Section 17 (a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for accepting a bribe, which was read together with Section 24 (1) of the same Act, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and fine of not less than five times the bribe involved, or up to RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The case was handled by MACC prosecution officer Nik Lokman Hakim Nik Mohd Nor and deputy public prosecutor Zander Lim Wai Keong, while the accused was represented by S. Selvantheran.

During the proceedings, Lim suggested a bail of RM15,000 due to the severity of the case, along with two additional terms for the accused to report herself to the MACC office in Segamat once every month and to hand over her passport to the court.

Selvantheran requested lower bail, saying that the accused was currently taking care of her two children, aged five and six, and two elderly in-laws.

The court granted bail at RM12,000 with one surety, along with the additional terms. The accused posted bail and next mention was set for March 24.