SHAH ALAM: A senior Malaysian Immigration Department officer pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to four counts of taking RM140,000 in bribes to illegally admit 56 Bangladeshi nationals into the country.
Mastura Aziz, 48, entered her plea after the charges were read to her before Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin on Monday (Jan 19).
She was accused of receiving RM140,000 in bribes from a foreign national while serving as a deputy assistant director at KLIA Terminal 1, in exchange for bypassing official immigration procedures.
The offences are alleged to have occurred on May 3, 7, 11 and 15, 2025, at a shopping centre in Sepang, the Kota Warisan Bandar Hawker Centre in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and a petrol station on Persiaran Warisan Maju.
She was charged under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
MACC deputy public prosecutor Irna Julieza Maaras proposed bail of RM50,000 along with additional conditions.
However, the accused's lawyer, Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent, applied for bail of RM10,000, citing his client's unblemished attendance record at all previous proceedings and her readiness to comply with any court-imposed conditions.
The judge subsequently set bail at RM20,000 with one surety for all charges.
He also ordered the accused to report monthly to the nearest MACC office and scheduled Feb 25 for the next case mention. – Bernama
