The accused Datuk Teo Wee Cheng, 65, arriving at the Johor Baru Sessions Court for the charges relating to the Jana Wibawa programme. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: A 65-year-old businessman has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to nine counts of asking and receiving bribes worth RM12.8mil linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.
Datuk Teo Wee Cheng claimed trial to the charges that were read to him in Mandarin before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail here on Wednesday (Feb 22).
Teo has claimed trial to two charges of asking for bribes worth RM11.3mil and seven charges of receiving a total of RM1.5mil worth of bribes.
The case was prosecuted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutors (DPP) Ahmad Akram Gharib and Chan Choon Yew while the accused was represented by Cains Tan.
During the prosecution, Ahmad Akram informed that the prosecution and the defence counsel have agreed on the bail to be set at RM500,000 along with the additional condition that the accused should surrender his passport to the court.
The court then agreed to allow bail at RM500,000 with one surety along with the additional condition and fixed May 17 for mention.
Earlier, the accused arrived at the court at 9.30am accompanied by MACC officers.
The MACC is currently investigating allegations regarding the Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumiputra Berwibawa or Economic Recovery of Authorised Bumiputra Contractors (Jana Wibawa) programme.
This programme was set up in Nov 2020 to empower bumiputra contractors struggling during the pandemic.
The MACC is currently investigating allegations that the chosen contractors then allegedly deposited RM300mil into the Bersatu party account.
