MACC arrests three museum dept officers over RM700,000 false claims

MALACCA: The Malacca Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested three officers of the Department of Museums Malaysia and a company manager over an investigation into RM700,000 worth of false claims, according to sources.
They said the three men and a woman, aged between 30 and 50, were held between 10am and 12.30pm today.
"Investigations revealed that they had submitted documents containing false particulars through various government orders to the Department of Museums Malaysia in Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca," they said.
The sources said the works mentioned in the claims had not been implemented, and investigations so far indicated leakages of at least RM700,000 in government funds between 2013 and 2015.
The investigations were carried out under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009 and, if convicted, the suspects could face a fine of five times the fraudulent amount involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, and imprisonment of up to 20 years.
The sources also said that the suspects were released on bail by the MACC today evening.
Malacca MACC director Datuk Azmi Alias, when contacted, confirmed the arrests but declined to say anything more. — Bernama