Kota Kinabalu: Two MCMC officers were jailed and fined for submitting fake documents to claim expenses totalling RM8,890.
Syahruddin Muhd Saleh, Deputy Director of the Sandakan Branch, was sentenced to six months’ jail and fined RM10,000 for three separate falsified claims, while Sufri Hasan Mindar, Assistant Director of the Beaufort Branch, received six months’ jail and a RM10,000 fine for a separate fraudulent claim of RM4,900.
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On the first to third counts, Syahruddin was found guilty of submitting falsified receipts to claim RM2,000 at the Mark’s Lodge on June 13, 2014, RM290 at 178-Advertising Sdn Bhd on June 12, 2014 and RM1,700 at Business Machines Service Centre on June 11, 2014.
The documents, titled Reconciliation of Expenses Incurred for “KDB With Parliament Beluran” were submitted on July 24, 2014, to Masnita Muad, Deputy Director of MCMC Finance Division, at the Sandakan MCMC office.
Under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, the offence carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the value of the false claims or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The court ordered Syahruddin to serve the jail sentences concurrently from the date of conviction.
Meanwhile, Sufri, Assistant Director of MCMC’s Beaufort Branch, was sentenced to six months’ jail and fined RM10,000, or three months’ imprisonment in default, for submitting a falsified document — Cash/Invoice Golden Sound Production dated Dec 30, 2013 — to claim RM4,900 for the “Festival Begandang Beaufort 2013” expenses.
The offence occurred on Jan 6, 2014, at MCMC’s Menara MAA office, here.
Sufri was charged under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 468, which carries up to seven years’ jail and a fine upon conviction.
The court granted both officers’ applications to stay execution of their sentences.
During the trial, the prosecution called 30 witnesses, while the defence presented four. MACC Prosecuting Officer Norsham Saharom represented the prosecution, while counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar defended the duo.
