KUALA LUMPUR: Businessman Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad has been charged again at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with soliciting a bribe of RM2mil relating to a Jana Wibawa project.
Adam Radlan, 42, who is also Segambut Bersatu deputy chief, had pleaded not guilty.
According to the charge, Adam Radlan was accused of asking for RM2mil in bribes from Lian Tian Chuan for the accused to assist Nepturis Sdn Bhd obtain the North Klang district office project in Selangor from the government valued at RM141mil.
The offence was allegedly committed at a restaurant in Publika here in January 2022.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and can be sentenced under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which provides for a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, upon conviction.
In hot water: Adam Radlan pleaded not guilty to all counts of soliciting bribes. — ONG SOON HIN/The Star
MACC deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh requested the court to adopt the RM300,000 bail with two sureties previously set for the accused at the Shah Alam Court.
The accused had been charged in the Shah Alam Sessions Court on Feb 22 for the offence of accepting bribes over the same project.
Lawyer Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam, who is representing Adam Radlan, did not object to the bail issue and informed the court regarding additional conditions given by the court before, namely that his client must report to the MACC office in Putrajaya once a month as well as handing his passport over to the court.
Azura then allowed the accused to use the RM300,000 bail set by the Shah Alam Sessions Court earlier along with the same additional conditions besides setting March 23 for the next mention of the case.
On Feb 21, Adam Radlan pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to two charges of soliciting and accepting bribes involving the same project, while on Feb 22, he also pleaded not guilty at the Shah Alam Sessions Court to two more charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM4.1mil for similar projects.
Jana Wibawa (Jana Ekonomi Pemerkasaan Kontraktor Bumi-putra Berwibawa) was set up in November 2020 purportedly to empower bumiputra contractors struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister, said recently that the implementation of Jana Wibawa involving RM5.7bil worth of public money has been suspended to be reassessed.
