SHAH ALAM: Four Royal Malaysian Customs Department enforcement assistants have been charged in the Sessions Court with accepting bribes totaling RM39,750.
Rahi Shamudin Ishak, 51, Mat Hafizan Abdullah, 42, Ahmad Shahremy Ahmad Damanhuri, 40, and Mohd Sufian Hashim, 38, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out separately to them before Sessions judge Datuk Anita Harun here on Tuesday (May 28).
Rahi was charged with 42 counts of accepting bribes from RM400 to RM2,000 between Dec 1, 2017 and April 4 last year; while Mat Hafizan faced four charges of accepting bribes totaling RM300 between July 3, 2020 and June 3, 2021.
Ahmad Shahremy was charged with one count of accepting RM5,000 on May 4, 2018, while Mohd Sufian was charged with two counts of accepting RM850 and RM400 respectively on June 30, 2018 and April 24 last year.
The offences were allegedly committed at bank branches at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang, Taman Sri Serdang and Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi.
The four were accused of accepting bribes from the 38-year-old owner of Kalos Enterprise via online transfers to avoid inspecting the company's cargo trucks leaving KLIA Cargo.
They were charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which stipulates a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment or a fine under Section 24(1) of the same Act, upon conviction.
The prosecution was conducted by DPP Mohd Afif Ali.
Rahi, Mat Hafizan and Mohd Sufian were represented by Mohd Hezri Shaharil, while Ahmad Shahremy was represented by Muhamad Aizat Fakri.
The court set bail at RM30,000 for Rahi; RM10,000 for Mat Hafizan; and RM8,000 each for Ahmad Shahremy and Mohd Sufian; with one surety each.
July 11 was fixed for next mention – Bernama
