KANGAR: A businessman has landed himself in hot water after allegedly trying to bribe the police with RM200,000 to secure the release of a lorry linked to a drug trafficking case.
Teow Kok Guan, 33, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here yesterday.
According to the charge, Teow offered the cash to Inspector Muhamad Taufiq Ibrahim, an operations officer at the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department, Perlis contingent police headquarters, in February last year.
The accused made the plea before Judge Norsalha Hamzah.
The bribe was intended as an inducement to secure the release of a bonded lorry with vehicle registration number PNX 3913, which had been impounded for an offence under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
The alleged offence occurred at Company D Camp, General Operations Force Battalion 1, Kuala Perlis at 9am on Feb 19, 2023, and Teow is charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and could face penalties under Section 24(1) of the same law, if found guilty.
If convicted, he faces a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The court allowed Teow bail of RM55,000 in one surety and ordered him to report to the nearest MACC office every month.
The court also set Sept 12 for mention.
