Two former bank officers pleaded guilty in the Shah Alam sessions court today to alternative charges of failing to report bribes given to them by law firms in connection with the preparation of documents for housing loans.
Judge Nasir Nordin fined Haikal Jamaludin RM25,000, and Amira Nabiela Jamaruddin RM6,000, Bernama reported.
Haikal, 41, will have to spend 30 months in jail, and Amira, 28, six months in jail if they fail to pay the fines.
Haikal was initially charged with five counts of receiving bribes totalling RM15,920, deposited into his bank account by the representative of a law firm, as gratification for recommending that the firm prepare five housing financing agreement documents estimated to be worth RM2.46 million.
The offences were committed at two bank branches in Petaling Jaya between April 14, 2021 and Jan 13, 2022.
Amira was charged with accepting a bribe of RM3,201, deposited into her bank account as a fee for recommending another law firm to prepare documents for two housing financing documents worth a total of RM924,387.20.
The offence was committed at a bank branch in Shah Alam on Nov 23, 2021.
The charges against them were initially framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for corruptly soliciting, accepting, or agreeing to accept any gratification (bribe), which carries a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
However, they were then offered alternative charges under Section 25(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 for not reporting the bribery transactions.
In mitigation, Haikal, who was unrepresented, told the court he has four children to support and is taking care of his mother, who has just undergone surgery for stage four cancer.
Amira, also unrepresented, said she is unemployed and has monthly commitments, including house, car and education loans, and a one-year-old child to care for.
Deputy public prosecutors Taufik Awaludin and Nurul Izzati Sapifee from MACC requested a proportionate sentence to serve as a lesson.
In another proceeding in the same court, bank officer Koh Wei Yeong, 37, pleaded not guilty to two counts of accepting RM1,800 from a law firm at a bank branch in Kelana Jaya on May 13, 2020, allegedly given as a gratification for recommending the law firm to prepare documents for housing financing amounting to RM300,000.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, but was also offered an alternative charge for failing to report the bribery transaction.
The court granted him bail of RM8,000 and also ordered him to surrender his passport, not to interfere with prosecution witnesses and to report to the MACC office every month. It also set Dec 16 for mention.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Selvam T Armugom from MACC, while Koh was represented by lawyer Paramjit Singh.
