Jailed two months and fined RM10,000 over RM500 bribe
Published on: Friday, February 02, 2024
By: Lagatah Toyos
Aisah (seated) waiting for her case outside the courtroom.
TAWAU: A former assistant enforcement officer with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Tawau Branch was jailed two months and fined RM10,000 or another three months by the Special Corruption Sessions Court, Thursday, for receiving RM500 bribe.
Judge Jason Juga handed the sentence to Aisah Batik, 43, after the court found the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
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The woman was convicted of receiving RM500 from Hardeyansah Bahtiar, 34, in exchange for the release of a wooden boat and an outboard motor confiscated by KPDN Tawau on Aug 15, 2017, at about 4pm at the Tawau Marine Police Jetty.
The boat was confiscated under Section 21 of the Supply Control Act 1961 after 10 cooking gas cylinders were found onboard.
However, Aisah managed to obtain a stay of execution of her sentence pending appeal to the High Court.
Counsel Mark Rosaidy, representing Aisah, requested leniency as she is a mother of five children aged two to 16 and that the jail sentence would disturb not just her but also her children’s lives.
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He said she had suffered enough when she was suspended in 2020 while her children were still little and needed their mother’s attention.
The case was first heard on Feb 20, 2020.
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Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Prosecuting Officer Norsham Saharom asked for a severe penalty, including jail time and a fine.
He said that corruption is a severe offence with far-reaching consequences.
Aisah is charged under Section 17 (a) of the MACC Act 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, which provides for a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
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