MACC gets more time to question senior engineers

KOTA KINABALU: Graft investigators have been given more time to question senior engineers in the on-going probe into allegations of massive corruption at the Sabah Water Department.

Magistrate’s courts in Tawau and Lahad Datu allowed four of the 22 engineers and technicians to be remanded for another five days.

This will allow graft investigators to gather more proof on how large sums of money were siphoned from the RM3.3bil in federal allocations for water since 2010.

So far, the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) has seized some RM7.2mil in cash and frozen the accounts of the 19 engineers and three technicians, who were arrested under second phase of the investigation.

MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki said the four suspects would be remanded until Thursday.

The remaining 17 others were still being detained for questioning at various districts in the state.

Azam confirmed the amount of cash seized were from the suspects who received kickbacks from the contracts.

The technicians and engineers arrested from different districts across Sabah were part of the implementers of the water projects.