Senior immigration officer, four others in remand

JOHOR BAHRU: A senior Immigration officer with the title ‘Datuk’, three other Immigration officers and a businessman are in remand for four days from yesterday for alleged involvement in a corruption case.

Magistrate Azureen Sahirah Saufee Afandi issued the order against the five of them following an application from the Malaysian Anti- Corruption commission ( MACC).

According to a MACC source, the 44-year- old senior officer was arrested at the Johor Immigration Department office at 10am on Sunday, while the other three officers, including a woman, who are aged between 38 and 46, were arrested between 3.25pm and 3.45pm at the Johor MACC office when they turned up to give their statements.

The business, aged 50, was arrested at his office in the city here, at 10.25am, also on Sunday.

The source said the senior Immigration officer was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes to approve applications for professional visit pass and temporary work permit without going through the procedures stipulated by the Malaysian Immigration Department.

Meanwhile, MACC director Datuk Seri Simi Abd Ghani, when contacted, said they were in remand for investigation under Section 17( a) of the MACC Act 2009.

He said during a search at the senior Immigration officer’s house, MACC recovered cash, in various currencies, to be worth about RM91,000, as well as a Singapore bank account book, with RM1.8 million in the account, which was under his name. — Bernama