KUALA LUMPUR: The Shah Alam Sessions Court has acquitted and discharged a former senior officer of a Selangor government subsidiary from a charge of using his position to recommend the direct appointment of a company for a contract worth more than RM1.7mil.
Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin ordered Mazlan Mahadi, 54, to be freed after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie in the case at the end of the prosecution's case.
"Based on the testimony of the second prosecution witness, Mohamad Hafiz Hassan, it clearly shows that AWS (Amazon Web Services) recommended the company, MMSC Ventures Sdn Bhd, for the project.
"Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged without being called to defend himself," said the judge.
A total of 14 prosecution witnesses testified during the trial of the case, which began on March 26, 2024.
According to the charge, Mazlan was accused of using his position as business development director at Selangor Smart Delivery Unit Innovations Sdn Bhd to propose MMSC Ventures Sdn Bhd, a company owned by his relative, for direct appointment for a contract to design, develop, deploy and maintain the AWS Landing Zone worth RM1,797,865.58.
The offence was allegedly committed at the SSDU office in Petaling, on March 25, 2020.
Mazlan was charged under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted. – Bernama
