Shah Alam: The former chief executive officer of the automotive institute was charged in the Sessions Court today on charges of accepting a bribe of RM5 million, two years ago.
However, Datuk Mohamad Madani Sahari, 56, pleaded not guilty as soon as the charge was brought before Judge Rozilah Salleh.
According to the charges, Mohamad Madani is accused of corruptly receiving RM5 million from Kenny Khow Chuan Wah, 48, through the Hong Leong Islamic Bank account owned by Norizan & Associates on the instructions of P Kuhan Arunasalam, 37.
It is as a reward for helping Aspire Knowledge Sdn Bhd get a letter of award (LOA) amounting to RM12 million, aimed at running a service provider program for The Malaysia Automotive Robotics and LoT Institute (MARii) and Re-Training Local Talent (ERT) from A2Z Technology Sdn Bhd which is subsidiary company MARii.
The offense was committed at the Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad branch, Section 15, Shah Alam, 8 July 2021 and was charged in accordance with Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 (Act 694), and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same act.
The section provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher if convicted.
Following the plea of not guilty, Deputy Public Prosecutor Law Chin How said, his party reached an agreement with the accused's defense to offer a bail of RM300,000 with one surety.
"The additional condition of the accused's international passport is kept by the court.
"The accused is expected to face about 20 more charges in Kuala Lumpur, Kedah and Shah Alam, there may be an application to transfer this case to Kuala Lumpur," he said.
Rahmat Hazlan's lawyer representing the accused confirmed the agreement.
"I would like to thank the prosecution for being generous in granting a reduced bail rate and agreeing to use the same bail for related cases in the future.
"The client's wife will be the guarantor," he said.
The judge then allowed bail and additional conditions as proposed by the prosecution and set the case to be re-mentioned on June 8
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