Enforcement officer to stand trial on corruption charges

KUCHING: The Sessions Court here has maintained the trial date of August 1 to 4 for a case involving an enforcement officer alleged to have received graft amounting to RM5,250.

Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong ruled that the hearing of the case should maintain.

The accused, Omar Mohd Bahari, an enforcement officer from a state ministry, pleaded not guilty to three counts of graft before Nixon on May 26.

He allegedly accepted RM1,750 from a complainant on three occasions in 2015, namely June 18, July 7 and July 27.

He is charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian-Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine at least five times the value of the grafts or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Nixon also rescheduled the trial date for a separate graft case involving two men who allegedly offered RM15,000 to a senior officer of the state Immigration Department.

Nixon fixed a three-day hearing from July 24 following a request from the defence counsel, who is engaged in another matter in Sri Aman.

The accused, Ling Mee Liong, 61 and Eng ChongKok, 40, are accused of offering money to the senior Immigration Department officer as an inducement not to take action against their foreign workers who were suspected of working without permits.

They are charged under Section 17(b) of the MACC Act 2009, which provides for a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of graft received or RM10,000, whichever is higher.