JB traders claim trial to attempted bribery of enforcement officers

JOHOR BARU: Two business owners pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to offering RM4,000 in bribes to city council officers so that action would not be taken against their premises.

Wong Chee Khoi, 56, and Tan Poh Wey, 41, claimed trial after the charges were read to them before Sessions judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail on Tuesday (Sept 24).

According to the charge sheet, Wong is accused of offering RM1,000 to an enforcement officer from the Iskandar Puteri City Council for operating a sundry shop without a licence.

The shop had been issued a notice for breaching licensing conditions under Bylaw 3 of the Trade, Business, and Industrial Licensing Bylaws (Iskandar Puteri City Council) 2018.

The offence allegedly took place at Jalan Persiaran Teknologi, at 8.20pm on Nov 2 last year.

Tan is accused of offering RM3,000 to an enforcement officer from the same council over an unlicensed mobile phone accessories shop.

This offence allegedly occurred at Jalan Pulai Mutiara, Taman Pulai Mutiara, at 5pm on Jan 23.

Wong and Tan were charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, and if found guilty, face punishment under Section 24(1) of the same Act.

This carries a fine of at least five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

MACC prosecutors Rais Adha Ramli and Nur Mahirah Mohd Pauzi led the prosecution, while Wong was represented by Lim Chon Sin and Tan by K. Bharathi.

The prosecution proposed bail of RM10,000 for each accused, with additional conditions that they surrender their passports to the court and report to the MACC office here once a month.

Lim requested lower bail, noting that Wong is a night market trader who supports two children, aged 15 and 21.

“The purpose of bail is not punitive; it is simply to ensure attendance in court,” he said.

Bharathi added that Tan, a salesman, also supports two children, aged 10 and 12, as well as his elderly parents.

The court set bail at RM4,000 for Wong and RM5,000 for Tan, along with the additional conditions. Next mention was then set for Oct 21 and 22.

Both accused posted bail.