KOTA KINABALU: Two members of the Malaysian Volunteer Corps Department (Rela) were charged at the Tawau Special Corruption Court here in connection with false allowance claims amounting to RM29,440 for security patrol and disaster monitoring duties.
Mohamad Ihsan Said, 42, and Radzmil Saadan, 38, pleaded not guilty before Judge Andi Razalijaya Dadi after the charges were read to them on Thursday (Sept 24).
Mohamad Ihsan, an Assistant Civil Defence Officer, faces three charges of submitting documents containing false particulars, while Radzmil Saadan, a Civil Defence Assistant (KP19), faces three charges of abetting him in the offences.
The court allowed bail of RM10,000 for each accused, with RM3,000 to be deposited with the court for all charges and one local surety.
Both men were also ordered not to interfere with prosecution witnesses, to report to the MACC Lahad Datu branch office once every two months, and to surrender their international passports to the court.
The court fixed Oct 23 for case mention and pre-trial case management under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, while trial dates were set for Nov 19 and 20.
According to the charges, Mohamad Ihsan allegedly submitted documents titled Summary of Assignment Allowance Claims for Lahad Datu district in Sabah to an officer. These documents contained false particulars relating to claims for security patrol and disaster monitoring allowances during the Northeast Monsoon period.
The false particulars involved claims for working hours that exceeded the actual hours worked. The charges relate to claims for November and December 2022, as well as January 2023, amounting to RM9,600, RM9,920 and RM9,920 respectively.
He allegedly committed the offences between December 2022 and February 2023 at the Sabah RELA State Office in Kota Kinabalu.
Mohamad Ihsan was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(2) of the same Act.
Radzmil, meanwhile, was charged with abetting Mohamad Ihsan, who at the time was the Lahad Datu District RelaA Officer, by reviewing the allowance claim forms that contained working hours exceeding the actual hours performed.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Lahad Datu Rela Office in December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023, involving claims for November and December 2022 as well as January 2023.
Radzmil was charged with abetment under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act 2009, read together with Section 18 of the same Act, punishable under Section 24(2).
If convicted, they face a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the gratification involved in the offence, if quantifiable or monetary in nature, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officer Norsham Saharom, while both accused were represented by lawyer Nur Hafizah Husna Elahab @ Lahab.
