JOHOR BARU: A 32-year-old Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officer was slapped with six charges at Sessions Court here for accepting bribes amounting to RM10,700, two years ago.
However, the accused, Muhammad Adzmin Zolkepli, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him in front of Sessions Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail on Monday (Dec 9).
According to the charge sheet, the accused, who holds the rank of senior maritime officer at the agency’s Kedah and Perlis headquarters, allegedly accepted valuable items in the form of cash ranging from RM1,200 to RM2,300 with no reply.
The money was received from the owner of a marine supply company. It was transferred via money transfers from the Maybank account of a middleman, a woman, which was then deposited into the accused's bank account.
The accused knew that the company's owner had dealings related to his official duties.
All the offences were allegedly committed at a bank in Segamat, Johor, between February 2022 and October 2022.
The charges were brought under Section 165 of the Penal Code (Act 574) for obtaining valuable things without consideration from a person concerned with his official function.
The Act provides a sentence of up to two years imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The case was prosecuted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) prosecution officer Abd Muntaqim Abdul Aziz, while lawyer Mohd Norazam Majid represented the accused.
During the proceeding, Abd Muntaqim requested bail of RM20,000 for the six charges, with a local surety, along with the additional terms for the accused to surrender his international passport to the court, report to the MACC office in Sandakan, Sabah, on the first week of each month, and refrain from contacting witnesses.
Mohd Norazam, in mitigation, appealed for the lowest possible bail, suggesting RM5,000 for all charges.
Mohd Norazam informed the court that the accused still serves as a senior officer in Sandakan, Sabah, with a monthly salary of RM1,700. He also supports his unemployed wife, a two-month-old child, his 65-year-old parents, and an 85-year-old grandmother.
The court then set bail at RM7,000 for the six charges and set Feb 7, 2025 for the case's next mention and submission of documents.
The accused had posted bail.
