SHAH ALAM: Two former bank officers have pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court here to an alternative charge of failing to report bribery transactions.
The bribes were for gratifications given to them by law firms in connection with preparing documents for housing financing between 2021 and 2022.
Sessions judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin imposed a fine of RM25,000, in default 30 months' jail, on Mohd Haikal Jamaludin, 41; and RM6,000 in default six months' jail on Amira Nabiela Mohamad Jamaruddin, 28.
Haikal was charged with five counts of receiving cash bribes totalling RM15,920, deposited into his bank account through a representative of a law firm, as gratification for recommending the company to prepare five housing financing agreement documents estimated to be worth RM2.46mil.
The offence was committed at two bank branches in Petaling Jaya between April 14, 2021 and Jan 13, 2022.
Amira Nabiela was charged with accepting a cash bribe of RM3,201, deposited into her bank account, as a fee for recommending another law firm to prepare documents for the financing of two houses totalling RM924,387.20.
The offence was committed at a bank branch in Shah Alam on Nov 23, 2021.
The charges against them were initially framed under Section 16 (a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.
They were offered an alternative charge of breaching Section 25 (1) of the Act by not reporting the bribery transactions.
During mitigation, Haikal, who was unrepresented, told the court that he has four children to support and is taking care of his mother, who recently underwent surgery for stage four cancer.
Amira Nabiela, who was also unrepresented, said in mitigation that she is unemployed and has monthly commitments including a house, car, education loans and a one-year-old child.
Deputy public prosecutors Muhamad Taufik Awaludin and NurulIzzati Sapifee, from MACC, requested a proportionate sentence to serve as a lesson.
In another proceeding in the same court, bank officer Koh Wei Yeong, 37, pleaded not guilty to two counts of accepting RM1,800 from a law firm at a bank branch in Kelana Jaya on May 13, 2020.
The money was allegedly given as a gratification for recommending the law firm to prepare documents for housing financing amounting to RM300,000.
He was charged under Section 16 (a) (A) of the MACC Act 2009, and also offered an alternative charge for failing to report the bribe.
The court granted him bail of RM8,000 and also ordered him to surrender his passport, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses and to report to the MACC office every month. It also set Dec 16 for mention. – Bernama
