KUCHING, Sept 28: Two men pleaded not guilty in the Kuching Sessions Court yesterday to charges of submitting false claim documents. One of them was charge with abetting the other accused to commit the crime.
Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong fixed the pre-trial case management for Oct 29 while the trial is scheduled for Dec 10 to 14.
Both the accused were released on RM15,000 court bail with one local surety and their passports to be surrendered to the court until the case is resolved. The charges were brought by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The first accused, Ahmad Adeni, 32, was charged with knowingly submitting a document containing false particulars on June 28, 2012, at Jabatan Sukarelawan Malaysia (RELA) Sarawak head office, near Rock Road, with intention to mislead. The particulars pertained to RELA officers’ allowance claims for officers on duty in Simunjan, Sebuyau and Balai Ringin constituencies as Ballot Box Officers for the month of April, 2012 amounting RM36,352.
The accused had claimed that there were 142 RELA members on duty as Ballot Box Officers, whereas in actual fact, there were no members on duty.
He was charged with committing an offence under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 of the same Act.
The second accused, Mohd Zairoolzaman Zaini, 34, was charged with abetting the first accused to commit the earlier mentioned crime, and was charged with committing an offence under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 of the same Act when read together with Section 28(1)(c)of the same Act.
If found guilty, the accused are liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher. — DayakDaily
