JOHOR BARU: Former Johor Baru mayor Datuk Adib Azhari Daud has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to 12 counts of soliciting and receiving bribes amounting to RM1.5mil.
The 64-year-old was charged with accepting bribes as an inducement for helping contractors get projects approved by the city council.
Adib claimed trial after the charges were read to him before Sessions Judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman yesterday.
According to the charge sheet, Adib, at the time he was Johor Baru mayor, had allegedly received payments between RM10,000 and RM250,000 from a middleman for helping contractors get projects in the Johor Baru City Council area.
The offences were allegedly carried out in Jalan Serama 7, Larkin, here between June 26, 2020, and Aug 6, 2021.
The money was supposedly an inducement received by the accused, who had in turn allegedly helped secure contracts for sewer pipe replacement, tree trimming, sewage pipe maintenance, landscape maintenance as well as maintenance at a centralised sewage treatment plant in Sungai Segget.
Adib was charged under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of RM10,000 or five times the value of the bribes, whichever is higher.
The case was prosecuted by MACC deputy public prosecutors Natrah Fareha Rahmat and Nur Zahida Muhammad Rozi while Adib was represented by counsel Azrul Zulkifli Stork.
During the proceedings, Natrah Fareha asked for bail to be set at RM300,000 with one surety, as well as for Adib to hand over his passport to the court.
It was also proposed that he report to the MACC office on the first week of every month and not come into contact with any witness in the case.
In mitigation, Azrul asked for lower bail as the accused is now living on his monthly pension payment of RM7,000 with no other source of income.
The court then set bail at RM120,000 with two sureties paid in instalments of RM60,000 on Sunday and another RM60,000 on Tuesday, along with the additional terms.
The court had also set July 3 for mention. Adib later posted bail.
