PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal on Wednesday (Dec 10) acquitted and discharged a former assistant engineer at Maktab Teknik Polis Diraja Malaysia in Bakri, Johor, of eight corruption charges involving over RM460,000.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Azmi Ariffin, and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid allowed the appeal by Hairudin Ngadiron, setting aside his conviction and sentence of seven years and six months' imprisonment and a fine of RM2.341mil, in default seven years.
In his unanimous ruling, Justice Azman held that the High Court had erred in overturning the Sessions Court's acquittal on the first two charges and then proceeding to convict and sentence Hairudin to prison and a RM1mil fine per count.
He further ruled that the High Court had also erred in maintaining the third to eighth charges. He added that the Court of Appeal was satisfied the appellant's defence had answered all charges and had consequently raised a reasonable doubt, warranting an acquittal.
According to the charges, Hairudin, 50, was accused of corruptly receiving RM465,886.32 in bribes between January and April 2017.
He allegedly received cash and home repair materials such as roofing iron, roof tiles, verandah timber, house tiles and doors, as well as vehicle repairs, from an individual as gratification for assisting in securing contracts at the police college.
The contracts pertained to the repair of buildings and a security fence at a guard post, the repair of a 25m semi-indoor shooting range, and the operation and maintenance of swimming and diving pools at the college's sports complex in 2016.
In October 2020, the Sessions Court found Hairudin guilty on six corruption charges and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM341,000.
However, the court acquitted and discharged him on two charges of receiving RM200,000 in cash from the manager of SMR Cahaya Enterprise.
He was also freed from nine charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
In November 2023, the High Court upheld the Sessions Court's decision to convict Hairudin but overturned the acquittal of his first two charges.
It proceeded to convict him on those counts, imposing a sentence of seven years and six months' imprisonment and a fine of RM1mil for each count.
The prosecution, however, did not appeal the Sessions Court's decision regarding Hairudin's acquittal on the charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. - Bernama
