KUALA LUMPUR: An officer from an enforcement agency in Kuching has been remanded over a bribery case involving a diesel smuggling syndicate operating in Sibu, Sarawak.
The assistant enforcement officer, in his 40s, has been remanded for six days until Sept 2.Magistrate Mason Jaro granted the remand application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the Kuching Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Sources said the suspect was detained at the Kuching MACC office at about 3.25pm on Monday when he was giving his statement.
“His arrest was a follow-up to Ops Liter, which was conducted by the MACC Special Operation Division at a fuel depot at Sungai Bidut, Sibu, on Sunday.
“The suspect is believed to have received bribes from the syndicate in exchange for protecting their subsidised diesel smuggling activity and not taking any legal action against them,” a source said.When contacted, MACC Special Operation Division senior director Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman confirmed the arrest.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that follow-up action and other arrests will be made soon,” he said.
On Monday, the MACC arrested five people and seized 1.6 million litres of diesel and RM3.7mil in cash in connection with a suspected syndicate involved in the embezzlement and misappropriation of subsidised diesel belonging to a fishermen’s association.
The syndicate is also believed to have bribed enforcement officers in Sibu to prevent action being taken against them.
It was reported that a raid on an oil storage depot in Sungai Bidut was conducted together with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
Three men and two women were arrested, including petrol station operators believed to be the syndicate leaders.
Following the raid, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the ministry will step up cooperation with agencies to curb the leakage of controlled subsidised goods.
