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BUTTERWORTH: Six more Road Transport Department (JPJ) officers in Penang were today charged in the sessions court here with 14 counts of receiving bribes totalling RM10,900 from a transport company director to protect his lorry drivers who may have committed traffic offences.
The six officers, who are between grades 19 and 29, are enforcement assistants Aminorrofee Rais, 44; Muhammad Faisal Salleh, 33; Abu Ubaidah Yacob, 51; Azrul Faiz Md Saad, 36; and Yusri Jusoh, 48; and assistant vehicle inspector Mohd Sarwani Mohd Nor, 34.
All of them are also facing 14 alternative charges of obtaining valuable things without any consideration from the company director for the same purpose of protecting the lorry drivers.
Aminorrofee is facing a total of 10 charges involving bribes of RM4,150, Muhammad Faisal is facing four charges involving RM1,800 and Abu Ubaidah, also four charges involving RM2,000.
Azrul Faiz is facing a total of two charges involving bribes of RM800, Yusri is facing two charges involving RM1,000 and Sarwani, six charges involving RM1,150.
All of them pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which were read out to them separately before Judge Nizam Zakaria.
Under the main charges, they are alleged to have received bribes in the form of cash from a director of Syarikat Sam Lian Transport & Tyre Sdn Bhd and TSR Transport Sdn Bhd, Ooi Cheng Keat, 46, as an inducement not to take action against lorries owned by these companies which may have committed offences under the Road Transport Act 1987.
They allegedly committed the offences at several banks in Bukit Mertajam between 2016 and 2018.
All the main charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and which are punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less five times the amount of the bribes or RM10,000, whichever is higher, on conviction.
Under the alternative charges, they are alleged to have obtained valuables without consideration from Ooi in connection with enforcement under the Road Transport Act 1987 against lorries owned by Ooi’s companies.
For these charges, if convicted they can be penalised under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum jail term of two years or fine or both.
The court granted them bail of between RM8,000 and RM10,000 each in one surety and ordered them to surrender their passports to the court. The court fixed Sept 24 this year for mention of their cases.
The prosecution was conducted by DPP Mohamad Azlan Basri and S. Selvaranjini while lawyer Mohd Hakim Hamran represented five of the accused except for Abu Ubaidah, who was represented by M. Hafiz Zainol Abidin.
The six are part of the 18 enforcement officers in Penang charged with corruption in stages since Wednesday, as announced by MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya.
The 18 included a former officer of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) who was charged in the Sessions Court here with 117 counts of corruption involving bribes of RM104,550.
The charging of these officers followed the arrest of more than 70 officers and men of the Penang JPJ in January this year on suspicion of their involvement in a racket protecting errant lorry drivers. — Bernama
