SANDAKAN: A community development officer claimed trial to two charges of abusing his position to recommend two relatives as recipients of Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya houses in 2022.
Herman Idris, 52, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Special Corruption Court judge Elsie Primus at the Sandakan Sessions Court on Friday (Mar 6).
He was accused of committing the offences on Sept 26, 2022, at about 2.30pm at the Libaran Conference Hall, Level 1, Wisma Perbandaran of the Sandakan Municipal Council.
At the time, Herman was serving as the community development officer (CDO) for the Elopura area.
According to the charge sheets, he allegedly used his position during a Sandakan district focus group meeting to recommend two of his relatives as recipients of assistance under the Rumah Mesra Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) programme, each worth RM70,000, despite them being ineligible.
The two individuals were subsequently selected as recipients of the housing assistance.
The offences were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, for each charge.
Earlier, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission prosecuting officer Dzulkarnain Rousan Hasbi requested bail of RM15,000 with one local surety for each charge pending trial.
The court also ordered Herman to surrender his international passport, report to the MACC office once every two months and refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses.
His lawyer, Sharatha Masyaroh John Ridwan Lincon, appealed for a lower bail, citing that Herman supports his wife, four children, as well as his mother and mother-in-law.
Judge Elsie allowed bail of RM15,000 with a deposit of RM6,000 and one local surety, and fixed April 2 for case management.
