Ex-MOF employee charged with corruption, cheating

Ex-MOF employee charged with corruption, cheating

NATION


Tuesday, 01 Oct 201911:27 AM MYT

By HANIS ZAINAL





KUALA LUMPUR: A former staff member at the office of a deputy secretary-general in the Finance Ministry has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to three charges of corruption and two alternative charges of cheating, related to the sale of a government property in Hong Kong in 2018.

Rohaya Sabot, 39, pleaded not guilty after charges were read in front of Sessions Court Judge Azman Ahmad on Tuesday (Oct 1).


For the first three charges, Rohaya was charged under Section 16 (a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which carries a prison term of a maximum of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum of gratification or RM10,000, whichever higher, upon conviction.

For the two alternative charges of cheating, she was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code which carries a prison term of not less than a year and not more than 10 years and whipping; and also liable to a fine, upon conviction.


For the first corruption charge, Rohaya – as a civil servant – had allegedly on Nov 25,2018, at a restaurant in Precint 8, Putrajaya, asked for a RM3mil bribe from Allied Vantage International Group Limited representative Wan Mohamad Wan Yusuf for assisting the company to buy a Malaysian government property at Gloucester Road in Hong Kong.

For the second charge, she had allegedly on Dec 14,2018, at a Maybank Islamic Bhd branch in Jalan Satok, Kuching, received RM50,000 from Wan Mohamad over the same matter.

For the third charge, she had allegedly on Dec 26,2018 at the same bank branch received RM3,000 from Wan Mohamad.

For the first of the two alternative charges, Rohaya had allegedly on Dec 14,2018, at the same bank, dishonestly induced Wan Mohamad to give her RM50,000 to assist his company to buy the government property at Gloucester Road in Hong Kong.

For the second charge, she had allegedly on Dec 26,2018 at the branch above dishonestly induced Mohamad Wan Yusuf to give her RM3,000 over the same matter.

After the charges were read, MACC deputy public prosecutor Zander Lim Wai Keong offered bail at RM20,000 with one surety for the accused.

He also asked for her passport to be given to court until the case was over.

Rohaya’s defence counsel Ravin Jay, however, asked for a lower bail of RM10,000, adding that his client was only earning RM5,500 a month and has a mortgage and personal loans to pay as well as needing to take care of her father.

DPP Lim, however, objected to this, saying that the amount was not excessive based on the punishment.

Judge Azman set bail at RM30,000 with one surety, and ordered Rohaya to surrender her passport to the court until the case is over.

Rohaya was also ordered to report herself to the nearest MACC branch in the first week of every month.


Seorang bekas setiausaha pejabat di Kementerian Kewangan didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen KL atas lima pertuduhan rasuah tender penjualan hartanah di Hong Kong, tahun lepas pic.twitter.com/auMbqvVSIh— BERNAMA (@bernamadotcom) October 1, 2019




Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/2019/10/01/ex-mof-employee-charged-with-corruption-cheating#GZuLR97WU5ykw9hy.99