Bangladeshis held for offering RM58 bribe to cop

GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s efforts to weed out corruption within the police force is creating awareness in the force and public.

This is evident from the state MACC’s latest arrest of two Bangladeshi men for allegedly offering a bribe to a policeman.

State MACC director Datuk Abdul Aziz Aban said the two men were arrested by police along Jalan Sirap in Butterworth at 10am on Sunday, and were handed over to MACC at 5pm.

“The two had tried to offer a RM58 bribe to a policeman after they were caught riding a motorcycle without licence.

“However, the personnel reported the incident and arrested the two for offering him a bribe,” he said when contacted by the New Straits Times.

Aziz said the MACC obtained a four-day remand order from the magistrate’s court here yesterday against the foreign nationals. The remand expires on Friday.

“We will most likely charge the duo under Section 17(b) of the MACC Act 2009 for offering gratification or bribe as an inducement to let them off, which carries imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of the bribe,” he said.

Aziz said the action of the policeman in reporting the incident to the MACC showed that there was greater awareness in the force and public on reporting corruption.

It was reported that the state MACC was hot on the trail of corrupt civil servants and had nabbed several culprits, including seven officers from Penang Zakat and three policemen from the Seberang Prai police station.