SEREMBAN: A man has claimed trial to a charge of giving an Environment Department officer a RM50,000 bribe to prevent action being taken against an electronic waste (e-waste) facility.
Soon Kein Chong, 40, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before Sessions judge N. Kanageswari here on Friday (Jan 23).
The alleged bribe was said to be an inducement to the 45-year-old officer not to act against the facility for flouting several provisions under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
These include operating without a licence, not having written permission to run the facility, failing to obtain environmental impact assessment approval, and not obtaining the green light to store scheduled waste on-site.
Soon was charged with committing the offence at around 1pm on Feb 12 last year at the Nilai Industrial Area.
He was charged under Section 17(b)(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1).
Offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined at least five times the bribe value or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
MACC deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin then told the court the prosecution was offering the accused bail of RM20,000 with one surety and that he must report to the nearest MACC office once a month until disposal of the case.
He also requested that Soon surrender his passport to the court pending next mention.
Soon's lawyer Azrul Zulkifli Stork said the defence agreed to the conditions, but pointed out that his client did not have a passport.
Judge Kanageswari then set bail at RM20,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to report to the MACC once a month.
The court fixed March 6 for next mention.
