Branded T-shirts, items tendered in ex-senior officer’s trial

KUALA LUMPUR: Fourteen Louis Vuitton T-shirts were tendered as evidence in the trial of a former senior government officer, charged with 32 counts of abusing his position and submitting false claims totalling RM38.4 million at the Sessions Court here yesterday.

The T-shirts, submitted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) principal Senior Assistant Superintendent Asmawi s/o Kulup Lam, 37, were among 36 T-shirts seized from former Youth and Sports Ministry’s Finance Division secretary Otman Arsahd, 59.

Two pairs of Dolce&Gabbana and Giorgio Armani pants and Tshirts with the brand names of Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Kenzo, Song For The Mute, Sacai, and Dolce&Gabbana were tendered before judge Azura Alwi.

Asmawi also tendered three smartphones, with the brand names of Vertu and BlackBerry, as evidence.

On April 21, 2016, Otman was charged with receiving RM16.623 million through cheques deposited into his Maybank, RHB and CIMB Bhd accounts between March 7, 2012 and Dec 11, 2015.

Besides Otman, a director of a sports company, Abdul Gafar Abdurahiman, 44, and his wife, Siti Rohanah Hussien, 44, were each charged with 63 counts of transferring RM15.723 million into a bank account owned by Otman during the same period.

Otman, Abdul Gafar and Siti Rohanah were charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM5 million or imprisonment of up to five years and/or both, upon conviction.

They were also charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years and a fine not less than five times the sum of the unlawful activity’s proceeds upon conviction.