Published: Tuesday November 3, 2009 MYT 10:27:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday November 3, 2009 MYT 7:01:56 PM

MACC crackdown: Umno MP, exco aide among those charged (Update 5)

By WANI MUTHIAH and NURBAITI HAMDAN

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had a field day at the Sessions Court here on Tuesday, with six people being slapped with multiple counts of graft.

Abdul Rahman Bakri

Among those charged was Barisan Nasional’s Sabak Bernam Member of Parliament Abdul Rahman Bakri, who faced eight counts of making claims of RM10,000 each for events that allegedly never took place.

He is accused of having committed the offences when he was the Sg Air Tawar assemblyman prior to the 2008 general election.

Abdul Rahman, who claimed trial to all eight charges, was charged under Section 11 (c) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.

If found guilty he can be jailed for between six months and 20 years and fined not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, for each charge.

The MACC’s legal affairs and prosecution chief Datuk Abdul Razak Musa told judge Syafeera Mohd Said that bail should be set at RM30,000.

Wong Chuan How

However, Abdul Rahman’s counsel Datuk Salehuddin Saidin asked for bail to be set at RM8,000, adding that a high bail would only burden his client who was innocent until proven guilty.

Syafeera rejected Salehuddin’s request and set bail at RM30,000 and fixed Dec 14 for mention of the case and April 26 to May 7 next year for the trial.

Also in court were eight Barisan Nasional MPs who were there to give Abdul Rahman moral support.

Amongst them were Tenggara MP Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique, Parit Sulong MP Datuk Noraini Ahmad and Silam MP Salleh Kalbi.

Abdul Rahman’s aide Mohd Rosli Busro was also charged at another Sessions Court with eight counts of abetting his boss.

Mohd Rosli claimed trial and judge Mat Ghani Abdullah fixed bail at RM9,000 with one surety and also set April 26 to May 7, 2010 for his trial.

Yahaya Shaari

Also charged at Mat Ghani’s court was former Gerakan Teratai assemblyman Yap Soo Sun who faced seven charges of making false claims for events that allegedly never took place.

Yap claimed trial and Mat Ghani set bail at RM25,000 with one surety, and fixed May 3-7 next year for the trial.

Yap’s aide Firdaus Abu Zarin was also slapped with seven charges of abetting Yap by providing fake documentation for him to make the allegedly bogus claims at Syafeera’s court earlier.

She set bail at RM8,000 with one surety.

Yap and Firdaus, who were also charged under Section 11 (c) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, will be tried together.

Also in the dock was Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu’s special assistant Wong Chuan How, who was charged in Syafeera’s court with two counts of misappropriating funds.

He is accused of fraudulently submitting a claim of RM2,500 to the Sepang District Council for the purchase of mini flags that were never delivered.

He was also charged with committing criminal breach of trust involving a cheque amounting RM5,000.

Syafeera set bail at RM5,000 and fixed March 29 to April 2 next year for Wong’s case to be heard.

He was charged under Section 11 (c) of the Anti Corruption Act 1997 for the first offence and Section 406 of the Penal Code for the second.

Earlier, Wong’s counsel Salim Bashir asked the court to set a lower bail as the accused was middle-aged and had health problems.

He added Wong did not receive any remuneration for working for Liu and only received payment for his appointment as Sepang district councillor.

Later in the day Wong was taken to Mat Ghani’s court where he was charged under Section 406 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust involving another cheque amounting RM2,500.

He also faced an alternative charge of misusing the cheque under Section 403 of the same code.

Mat Ghani also set bail at RM5,000 with one surety and fixed March 8-12 next year for trial.

Wong claimed trial for all three charges.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s former aide Yahaya Saari was also charged at Syafeera’s court with misleading Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd chairman Datuk Abd Karim Munisar into giving him RM50,000 to organise an event to celebrate Pakatan Rakyat’s first 100 days in office.

He was also charged with using fake documents to open a bank account for PKR.

Yahaya, who was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code for the first offence and Section 471 of the Penal Code for the second, claimed trial. The court fixed bail at RM10,000 and set April 19-23 for trial.

If found guilty, Yahaya faces a jail term of up to 10 years, whipping and a fine for the first offence, and a maximum of two years’ jail or a fine or both under Section 465 of the same code for the second offence.

Earlier story:
Umno MP and DAP exco's aide among five arrested