KUANTAN: A Singaporean chief executive officer was fined RM145,000 by the Sessions Court here today for failing to report bribery to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Judge Datuk Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain also ordered Cheung Wing Shing, 60, who had pleaded guilty to two alternative charges, to be jailed 16 months if he failed to pay the fine.
Cheung, who works with a restaurant chain, is charged with failing to report the RM26,850 bribe he received on July 23, 2019 and RM7,000 on Jan 14, 2021 that was deposited in an account related to him.
He received the monies from two contracting companies as payment for appointing them to carry out kitchen renovation and equipment supply work for the restaurants under his supervision.
Cheung was charged under Section 25(1) of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a fine of up to RM100,000 or a maximum jail sentence of 10 years, or both upon conviction.
Cheung’s lawyer Datuk Joshua Kevin urged the court, in passing sentence, for leniency on the grounds that his client had cooperated with the MACC and had pleaded guilty to the offence.
“We also ask the court for a not too heavy fine as the accused’s income had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This was also his first offence, which he promises never to repeat,” he said.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, however, urged the court to hand a deterrent sentence against the accused to dispel public perception that MACC was not serious in curbing corruption.
Cheung paid the fine. -Bernama
