Warden jailed, fined for taking bribe from convict
KOTA BARU: Pengkalan Chepa Prison chief Inspector Mohd Zambri Abdullah was yesterday sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM15,000 by the Sessions Court here for accepting a RM3,000 bribe from an inmate two years ago.
Judge Ahmad Bazli Bahruddin meted out the sentence to Zambri, 39, after the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
The court also sentenced Lance Corporal Dzul Azam Nani, 34, who was assigned to the same prison, to two years’ jail and fined him RM15,000 for the same offence.
The court ordered the sentence to run from yesterday.
It, however, granted a stay pending an appeal at the High Court. Bail was set at RM4,000 for each of the accused.
Zambri was accused of accepting RM3,000 from Mohd Fakhrul Akashah Mat as an inducement to not take action against Wan Muhammad Azlan Wan Mahmood, a prisoner, for failing a urine test held at the Pengkalan Chepa Prison’s quarters at 10.15pm in December 2016.
He was accused under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) Act 2009 (Act 694), which carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Dzul Azam was accused of accepting RM3,000 from Fakhrul on behalf of Zambri at a fast food restaurant in Pengkalan Chepa at 6pm on Dec 20, 2016.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(b) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24 of the same act.
Deputy public prosecutor Shahidah Muslimah Roslan prosecuted, while the accused were represented by counsel Ahmad Nizam Mohamed and Shahruddin Mohamed.
Earlier, the accused appealed for a lenient punishment and for the court to take into consideration their good record while serving under the Prisons Department.
Shahidah, however, requested for a deterrent sentence as the accused had abused their positions.