Couple claim trial to abusing power for gratification
MELAKA: A married couple, both lecturers at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here yesterday to using their office for gratification.
Muhammad Zulfattah Zakaria, 36, and his wife, Norain Idris, 33, made the pleas after the charges were read out to them separately before judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.
They were allegedly responsible for handling the purchase of laboratory items for research purposes, worth RM52,000 at the university between July 2015 and June 2016.
Zulfattah was charged with three counts of using his position for gratification by selecting a company belonging to his mother-in-law, HA Mega Supply, for the purchase of laboratory items, involving tenders for RM19,986, RM19,975 and RM9,102.
The offences were allegedly committed at the university’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Alor Gajah between Jan 27, 2015 and July 15, 2015.
Norain was charged with committing the same offence, which involved the purchasing of equipment worth RM3,498 from the same company.
She had allegedly committed the offence at the university’s Research and Innovation Centre between June 15 and July 23, 2015.
The charges against the couple were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, and they face imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
Deputy public prosecutor Irwan Shah Abdul Samat, who prosecuted, offered Zulfattah bail of RM80,000 on all three charges and RM10,000 for Norain.
However, lawyer Rohaizad Kasim, who was representing the couple, requested for a lower bail as his clients, who earned RM9,000 a month, had two children and were supporting their parents, and that their Tabung Haji accounts had been frozen since last year.
Following which, Nasir set bail at RM30,000 for Zulfattah and RM10,000 for Norain.
The couple were ordered to surrender the passports to the court and to report themselves at the Melaka MACC office every month.