JOHOR BARU: A 55-year-old repairman has been charged with offering a RM500 bribe to a city council enforcement office in June last year.
Lee Swee Huat pleaded not guilty to the charge after it was read to him in front of Sessions judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail here on Wednesday (April 3).
According to the charge sheet, the accused offered RM500 to the officer from the Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) as an inducement not to take action against him.
The accused had placed scrap in a public place without permission from MBIP, an offence under Section 46 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974.
The act was allegedly committed at premises in Jalan Perlaluan Makmur, Taman Damai Jaya, Johor Baru at 2.30pm on June 26.
The offence is framed under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for offering bribes.
The accused faces a fine of five times the bribe amount, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, and a maximum jail term of 20 years upon conviction.
The case was prosecuted by MACC prosecution officer Rais Adha Ramli and DPP Nur Zahida Muhammad Rozi, while the accused was represented by Mohamad Azrulsani Othman.
Rais suggested bail of RM10,000 with one surety along with two additional conditions, for the accused to hand his passport to the court and report to the MACC office here once a month.
Mohamad Azrulsani, in mitigation, requested lower bail as the accused has no steady income and only earns about RM2,000 a month.
“The accused makes his income by (repairing) electrical appliances (and) selling recyclable items,” he said.
The court then set bail at RM5,000 with one surety along with the additional terms and scheduled next mention for May 5.
Lee posted bail.
