MELAKA: A senior officer from the Melaka Immigration Department, his wife and two other enforcement officers have been remanded for six days for allegedly accepting bribes to protect commercial premises employing illegal immigrants.
The remand order, valid until Jan 11, was issued by Magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman at the Ayer Keroh court complex here, following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Tuesday, (Jan 6).
According to a source, two of the suspects, a senior officer from the Melaka Immigration Department and an enforcement officer, were believed to have received monthly bribes amounting to about RM20,000 from employers operating in the state, from 2021 to 2025.
"The bribes were allegedly given in exchange for protecting the premises involved and for not taking action against offences related to the employment of illegal immigrants,” the source said.
The source added that a woman, the wife of a senior Immigration officer, was also detained after she was suspected of abetting corrupt activities.
It was understood that payments were made in cash during handovers and by bank transfer.
In a separate case, another enforcement officer was also remanded for allegedly soliciting and receiving bribes totalling RM1,950 from a restaurant manager here between January and July, 2025.
The payments were allegedly made as an inducement for the officer to refrain from taking action against undocumented migrants employed at the premises.
"All the suspects, aged between 30 and 50, were arrested at the Melaka MACC headquarters between 11.50am and 4.50pm on Monday (Jan 5),” the source said.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Melaka MACC director Datuk Adi Supian Shafie confirmed the arrests, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
He said the arrests resulted from successful intelligence gathering and a joint operation with the police.
