KOTA KINABALU: A 46-year-old town planning officer pleaded not guilty to a charge of submitting a false claim amounting to RM19,100 for services that were allegedly never rendered.
Nazri Hamburg, an officer with the state Town and Country Planning Department, is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
According to the charge, Nazri is accused of knowingly submitting a false document, a claim form dated June 12, 2017, to a finance administrative assistant in his department.
The claim allegedly included a bill, No. 171021 dated May 12, 2017, for the delivery of a Proton Saga BLM and a Toyota Hilux Vigo to Papar, along with manpower for moving goods, which totalled RM19,100.
If convicted, Nazri faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of not less than five times the value of the false claim or RM10,000, whichever is higher, under Section 24(2) of the same Act.
Sessions judge Jason Juga, sitting in the Special Corruption Court here, allowed bail at RM10,000, with RM5,000 to be deposited and the remaining RM5,000 without deposit.
One local surety was required.
Nazri was also ordered to report to the MACC office every two months pending the disposal of the case.
The case will be mentioned again on July 10.
