Published: Tuesday November 10, 2009 MYT 5:43:00 PM
Court upholds graft conviction of ex-ROC officer
By LISA GOH
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court upheld the corruption conviction a former Registrar of Companies (ROC) investigating officer and a businessman, who were sentenced by the Sessions Court to two years’ jail and a RM50,000 fine each for accepting a RM10,000 bribe eight years ago.
High Court Judicial Commissioner Azman Abdullah maintained the sentence imposed on former investigating officer Zaidi Abdul Ghani, but reduced businessman Baharuddin Hamzah’s sentence to 18 months’ imprisonment.
The court also maintained the RM50,000 fine, in default of 12 months’ jail, for both and ordered them to pay up by Nov 17.
In passing sentence on the appeal, Azman said he found the two guilty but took into consideration of the fact that both were first time offenders. He also noted that Baharuddin had six children to care for, including a two-week-old baby.
However, he also noted that at the time of the incident, Zaidi, 43, was a civil servant, while Baharuddin, 34, was not.
“I find that the sentence imposed by the Sessions Court to not be terribly severe. The RM50,000 fine, being five times the bribe amount, is the minimum, and the two-year jail sentence is only 10% of the maximum 20-year jail sentence.
“I find that if the trial judge had failed to consider the mitigating factors, he would have imposed a heavier sentence,” Azman ruled.
On Feb 21, 2005, Zaidi, of Setapak, and Baharuddin, of Jalan Melaka Raya, were found guilty by the Sessions Court of receiving the bribe from businessman Tengku Ammer Amran Tengku Abdullah to “settle an investigation” against Kelantan-based plantation company Akar Korporat Sdn Bhd, which was said to have collected money without a licence.
They were said to have committed the offence at Hotel Flamingo in Tasik Ampang at about 9.30pm on June 13, 2001, thus contravening Section 10(a)(aa) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.
Upon conviction, the two were liable to a jail-term of not less than 14 days, and not more than 20 years, and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the bribe.
The two had on May 17, 2002, claimed trial to the charge.
Representing Zaidi and Baharuddin were counsel Akbardin Abdul Kader and Jagjit Singh, respectively, while deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais stood for the prosecution.
The defence counsel then applied for a stay of execution on the jail sentence pending their appeal in the Court of Appeal, which was granted.
A stay application on the fine, however, was not allowed.
“If they don’t pay their fine within a week, the jail sentence will commence,” the court ruled.
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