Farmer fined RM10,000 for graft

KUANTAN: A Cameron Highlands flower grower was sentenced to a day’s jail and fined RM10,000 after pleading guilty to bribing a National Security Council officer to avoid enforcement action against his illegal farm.

Chin Peng, 49, admitted giving RM2,000 to officer Sanifah Yusof as an inducement not to demolish his illegal farm in the Ringlet forest reserve.

According to the facts of the case, Chin had gone to a hotel in Tanah Rata on April 10, 2015 to offer the bribe.

At the hotel, he produced two copies of permit applications for farming that had not been approved for use in the forest reserve.

However, Chin was already farming on the land.

He then proceeded to put the bribe on the table for Sanifah to take.

In mitigation, lawyer Simon Evanson said his client had applied three times for a permit since 1997 but did not receive a response from the authorities.

“This is relevant to show that my client has no bad intention,” he said, adding that a heavy sentence would have a huge impact on Chin, who has a wife and four children.

Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry asked for a deterrent sentence, saying that there had been four similar cases prosecuted in the same court.

“This is not the first case of its kind. Total fines for the prior cases are already more than RM200,000.

“They all have the same modus operandi and the frequency is getting rather rampant,” said Mohamad Fadhly.

Saying that she would take the non-response to his permit applications into consideration, Sessions Court judge Habibah Mohamed Yusof then sentenced Chin to a day in jail and a RM10,000 fine or four months’ imprisonment.

Chin settled the fine.