KUCHING, August 2: Ten individuals including four officers and staff of the National Civics Bureau (BTN) have been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) this week for alleged involvement in falsifying claims totalling RM600,000.
The suspects, four men and six women aged between 30 to 53, were arrested around 3pm and 7pm after they appeared at the Sarawak MACC headquarters to give statements since Tuesday, July 31.
According to an MACC source, they were believed to have conspired with 43 companies across Sarawak by producing documents with false details for their work claims. One of the company owners is also believed to be a “runner” for other companies.
The source said all payments were made to accounts of several companies in 2016 and the suspects were believed to have profitted from the transactions.
“Investigations found that about 70 per cent of the services and supplies provided by the said companies to the National Civics Bureau did not exist or were not carried out in the said timeframe,” the source continued.
State MACC director Razim Mohd Noor, when contacted, confirmed the arrests and that the commission was in the process of identifying all companies involved in the scheme.
To date, nine bureau officers and six company owners have been arrested. MACC has also recorded statements from 138 witnesses involving 20 companies across the state.
He added that all suspects have been detained under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009 to facilitate with investigations. Two of the suspects will be produced at the Kuching Magistrate Court on Thursday (Aug 2) for remand. — DayakDaily
