SHOP ASSISTANT JAILED FOR BRIBE BID
He is also fined RM17,500
AGROCERY shop assistant broke down in tears at the Sessions Court here yesterday after being sentenced to a month’s jail and a fine of RM17,500 for offering a bribe to an enforcement assistant officer from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry on Aug 4.
Judge Madihah Harullah ordered Muhammad Imran Abdullah, 48, a Bangladeshi, to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on Aug 4 and an additional 10 months’ jail if he defaults on the fine.
Imran pleaded guilty.
The accused was charged with offering a RM3,500 bribe to Mohd Tarmizi Jusoh@Tajudin as an inducement not to take legal action on the business premises belonging to his wife, who sold scheduled controlled items without a licence, an offence under Regulation 3(1) of the Supply Control Regulations 1974 (Supply Act 1961).
The offence was committed at a premises at College Heights Garden Resort Mantin on Aug 4 at 1.26pm.
It is punishable under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and Section 24 of the same Act.
The section provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
MACC deputy public prosecutor Nurdiyanah Mohd Nawawi urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence as a lesson to the accused and reminder to the public.
In mitigation, the unrepresented accused pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying that he had brain tumour and had to take care of his two children and wife, who suffers from migraines.