MELAKA: A 44-year-old former female member of a non-governmental organisation here faced four counts of charges relating to alleged bribery and falsifying a government document while being warded at the psychiatric ward of Melaka Hospital here on Tuesday (Jan 20).
The Ayer Keroh Sessions Court convened the proceedings at the hospital, where the accused, Nurfateha Othman is currently receiving treatment.
The accused claimed trial to all four charges after they were read before Judge Elesabet Paya Wan during the proceeding.
She is facing three charges of allegedly accepting bribes amounting to RM36,824.50 and one charge of falsifying documents, all related to an alleged assurance to secure a "Datuk Seri" award in conjunction with the Melaka's honorary title investiture ceremony in 2023.
According to the charges, the accused is alleged to have received bribes from a businessman as an inducement to secure the conferment of the title, despite having no authority to grant the award.
For the first charge, the accused is alleged to have received RM25,559.50 between Nov 23, 2022 and Nov 23, 2023 through online transactions from a bank account belonging to a company owned by the businessman’s wife.
Under the second charge, the accused is alleged to have received RM2,440 between Dec 13, 2022 and June 1, 2023 through online transactions from the personal bank account of the businessman’s wife.
For the third charge, the accused is alleged to have received RM8,825 between Dec 28, 2022 and Nov 2, 2023, into her own bank account through online transactions from the personal bank account of the same individual.
All the alleged offences were said to have been committed at a bank here and charges were framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for an imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The accused is also facing a fourth charge under Section 468 of the Penal Code for allegedly providing a forged document, namely a Letter of Conferment of the Melaka State Honour 2023 to the businessman in September 2023 with intent to deceive, despite no actual conferment having been made.
If convicted, the offence carries a sentence of imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharina Farhana Nor Sa’ari, while the accused was unrepresented.
The court ordered that the accused be transferred to the psychiatric ward at Hospital Permai in Johor for observation and for a written medical report on her condition to be obtained from the hospital’s medical director.
The accused was not offered bail and the court fixed Feb 23, 2026, as the next date.
