RMAF clerk charged with submitting false claims

A clerk at the R o y a l Ma l a y s i a n A i r Fo r c e (RMAF), who suffers from slipped disc, was charged in the Sessions Court yesterday with seven counts of submitting false personal medical claims, totalling RM11,459, four years ago.

Siti Nor Hakiki Abdullah, 38, who was wheelchair-bound, arrived at the court with her face covered and was ushered in by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers.

Clad in a white baju kurung, she pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to her before Judge Allaudeen Ismail.

Her husband, who sat at the public gallery, tried to hold back his tears when Siti Nor Hakiki entered the dock with the help of MACC officers.

The mother of two was charged with using seven medical facility expenses forms containing false information on her purchase of various types of non-existent medications.

The offences were allegedly committed at the RMAF’s Logistics Base office here between Aug 12 and Dec 10, 2013.

She was charged under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a fine at least five times the amount of corruption, and a maximum 20 years’ imprison- ment, upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Syakimah Ibrahim asked the court to set bail at RM10,000 with one surety for all the charges.

However, the accused, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a minimum bail as she was the sole breadwinner of her family.

“My husband, who is a former soldier, is jobless, and I have to take care of my mother,” she said.

The court set bail at RM6,000 with one surety and ordered her to surrender her passport to the court.

Allaudeen fixed July 26 for mention and document submission.