KUCHING, June 11: A freelance consultant pleaded not guilty before the Special Corruption Court today for allegedly bribing a police officer in 2015.
Chin Kum Chuan, 52, who was a sand cleaning consultant for Stockpile Megaruma (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd in Sungai Serayan, Sematan, was alleged to have attempted to bribe Supt Mohd Mazlan Mohd Ariff with RM800 in order for the latter not to take action against four Indonesian workers.
Chin is charged with committing the bribery at Stockpile Megaruma’s site on Sept 9, 2015, at about 5.50pm with the hope that the police officer would not take action against him and his workers.
It is understood that at the material time, the four Indonesians were suspected of not having valid working permits in the state, and as such they were jointly investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/1963 (Amended 2002).
Today, Chin was charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24 of the same Act.
If found guilty, he is liable to an imprisonment term of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
As he pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence, Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong set aside Aug 16-18 for trial and allowed Chin to be released on RM10,000 court bail with one surety.
Nixon also ordered Chin to surrender his passport to the court and appoint a lawyer for trial.
Chin, who was unrepresented this morning, pleaded for leniency as he needed to return to his family in Pontianak for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
He assured the court that he would return on July 9, and thereafter, he would surrender his passport.
His request was allowed by Nixon.
This case was prosecuted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Dzulkarnain Rousan Hasbi. — DayakDaily
