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Sunday August 31, 2008

Interpreter held over missing bonds

By NELSON BENJAMIN


JOHOR BARU: Important court documents, including bail bonds meant to be kept in safekeeping until a trial ends, have gone missing in a major security breach at the courthouse here.

Police have obtained a remand order against a 25-year-old court interpreter at a magistrate’s court here, who tested positive for drugs, to assist in investigations following a report lodged by a magistrate this week.

Investigations showed that at least 16 bail bonds for almost RM125,000 have been returned to the bailors and cashed out while trials were still in progress, providing an opportunity for suspects to jump bail or not turn up in court for their hearing dates.

Police have tracked down most of the bailors and suspects and are getting them to assist in the investigations.

Most of the bail bonds, involving sums of between RM3,000 and RM10,000, are for illegal gambling cases. Some of the trials have been going on from last year.

Besides bail bonds, police also seized other documents including charge sheets and bail letters from the interpreter.

Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Ahmad confirmed the arrest and said the suspect was being investigated for criminal breach of trust.

It is learnt that police began their probe after the magistrate claimed a court interpreter was found in possession of classified court documents.

She said she was “tipped off” after the interpreter was detained by another agency for a separate offence last week.

Investigations showed that the interpreter, who has been working with the court for at least two years, had access to the bail bonds and was alleged to have contacted the bailers and told them they could take back the fixed deposit slips and cash provided they paid a small commission for his services.

(A bail bond is in the form of a fixed deposit, which is a bond or obligation given by a prisoner and his surety, to ensure the suspect’s appearance in court. The amount is forfeited if the suspect jumps bail or absconds before a judgement.)

A court official said this was a serious breach of security as the interpreter had easy excess to the bail bonds amounting to millions of ringgit in each of the courts.

“In other states, the bonds are usually kept under lock and key by the finance section,” he said, adding that a registrar usually kept the other court documents.

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