KUALA TERENGGANU: A former incubator manager of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) was sentenced to two years in jail and fined RM85,000, in default six months in jail, for using his office for gratification.
Judge Dazuki Ali imposed the sentence on Mohd Saiful Nizam Husin, 43, on Thursday (Feb 15).
He was charged with using his position as the then incubator manager of Mardi by proposing a company belonging to his wife to obtain a work tender worth RM17,000 in Mardi, Besut, in March 2015.
He was charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification, which is the subject matter of the offence, where such gratification is capable of being valued or is pecuniary, or RM10,000, whichever is the higher if found guilty.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh requested an appropriate punishment as a lesson to the accused and to take the public interest into account.
Lawyer Mohd Asaari Salleh, representing the accused, requested a stay of the sentence and fine, but the court only granted a stay of the prison sentence and ordered the accused to be sent to jail today when he failed to pay the fine. – Bernama
