Two Land Office staffers jailed for taking bribes
Two civil servants - a senior assistant land officer and a rank-and-file worker at the Kota Tinggi Land Office - have been sentenced to jail and fined a total of RM345,000 by the Special Corruption Sessions Court in Johor Baru yesterday.
Judge Mohd Haldar Abdul Aziz handed down the sentences after finding the accused, Rahmat Abdullah, 52, and Naf 'Kamarulzaini Atan, 33, guilty of accepting bribes totalling RM69,000 from a company director, four years ago.
Two civil servants - a senior assistant land officer and a rank-and-file worker at the Kota Tinggi Land Office - have been sentenced to jail and fined a total of RM345,000 by the Special Corruption Sessions Court in Johor Baru yesterday.
Judge Mohd Haldar Abdul Aziz handed down the sentences after finding the accused, Rahmat Abdullah, 52, and Naf 'Kamarulzaini Atan, 33, guilty of accepting bribes totalling RM69,000 from a company director, four years ago.
For Rahmat, the court imposed a two-year jail term and a fine of RM25,000 after he was found guilty of one count of receiving a cheque for RM5,000 from Saujana Serangkai Sdn Bhd director Rizam Sahar at a Pizza Hut restaurant in Jalan Niaga, Kota Tinggi Trade Centre, at 2 pm on July 12, 2010.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement issued in Johor Baru yesterday that the bribe was an inducement for Rahmat to help the company get approval for a contract to clean and remove wood remnants in Mukim Sedili Besar.
"If he fails to pay the fine, he is liable to be imprisoned for another year," the commission said today.
Cheques worth RM64,000 handed over
Naf 'Kamarulzaini was sentenced to two years' jail and fined RM320,000, after being found guilty of four counts of receiving cheques totalling RM64,000 from the same individual between May and July 2010.
Naf 'Kamarulzaini was accused of receiving the first and second cheques, worth RM45,000 and RM13,000, in front of the Elegant Accessories Sdn Bhd shop in Taman Seraya, Kulai Jaya, between 9.30am and 10.30am on May 31, 2010, and 11-11.20am on June 4, 2010.
He then received a third cheque worth RM3,000 at LV Car Wash on Jalan Mawai, Kota Tinggi, at 10.30am on June 18 the same year, while the fourth charge involved the acceptance of a cheque worth RM3,000 at Warung JHLAM on Jalan Mawai, Kota Tinggi, at 10.30am on July 8.
MACC said if Naf 'Kamarulzaini failed to pay the fine, he could be jailed for three years, beginning today.
Both the accused were charged under Section 17(a) of the (MACC) Act 2009, which provides for a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
- Bernama
