Camera shy: Customs officers leaving the court in Shah Alam.
KUALA LUMPUR: Another batch of Customs officers has been charged in the Shah Alam and Sessions courts here with bribery related to liquor smuggling.
Four Customs officers with the rank of assistant superintendent were charged in the Shah Alam Sessions Court with 12 counts of accepting bribes totalling RM129,400. They allegedly accepted the sum as an inducement not to take action against liquor smuggling. They claimed trial to the charges before judge Datuk Noradidah Ahmad yesterday.
Azahar Zainuddin, 32, Che Zulkifli Che Ismail, 29, Nor Shafik Shamsinor, 29, and Mohd Izwan Ramli, 31, allegedly received bribes ranging from RM600 to RM42,800.
They allegedly committed the offences between April and July this year at a restaurant and by the roadside at a village in Pulau Indah, as well as the main entrance of West Port.
The four were charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act.
Noradidah set bail at RM5,000 for Mohd Izwan, RM8,000 (Nor Shafik) and RM10,000 (Azahar and Che Zulkifli).
She also ordered the four to surrender their passports to the court pending the disposal of their case.
The court set Oct 30 for mention.
In the Sessions Court here, two Customs officers were charged with similar offences.
Customs senior enforcement assistant Mohd Zulkifli Dollah, 49, claimed trial to seven counts of accepting bribes totalling RM10,100 as an inducement so that he and his team would not take action against Oettinger Alcohol Trading company. He is alleged to have accepted the bribes between October 2013 and August this year at various locations in Cheras.
Customs enforcement assistant Mohd Nor Sukri Mohd Mokhtar, 39, claimed trial in a different courtroom to nine counts of accepting bribes and one charge of soliciting a bribe, totalling RM20,000, as an inducement not to disturb the operations of an unnamed liquor trading company.
He is accused of taking the bribes through his wife’s bank account at several locations in Cheras between September 2013 and August this year.
Judge Mohd Nasir Noordin granted RM10,000 bail with one surety for Mohd Zulkifli, while judge Allaudeen Ismail set bail at RM20,000 with one surety for Mohd Nor Sukri.
Both judges ordered the accused to surrender their passports.
Both cases were fixed for mention on Oct 30.
