JOHOR BARU: An Immigration officer with 18 years of service has claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to 10 counts of accepting bribes amounting to more than RM55,000.
Mohd Edisahril Mohd Noor, 41, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before Sessions Court judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail here yesterday.
According to the facts of the case, he allegedly accepted bribes ranging from RM3,000 to RM10,000 on 10 separate occasions from an individual, with the funds being deposited into the bank account of a company owned by his wife.The bribes, totalling RM55,150, were allegedly given as inducements for him to facilitate the entry of Indonesian citizens into Malaysia without complying with the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Mohd Edisahril, who works at the Bangunan Sultan Ismail Immigration office, is accused of committing the offences at a bank in Bandar Baru Uda between Nov 4, 2023, and Feb 23 this year.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a sentence of imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The accused also faces 10 alternative charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code for obtaining valuable things without consideration from a person concerned with his official functions during the same period and location.
If convicted, he could face up to two years in jail, a fine or both.
Mohd Edisahril also pleaded not guilty to the alternative charges when they were read before the judge.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin requested that bail be set between RM15,000 and RM20,000 due to the seriousness of the case.
He also asked the court to impose additional conditions requiring the accused to surrender his passport and report to the Johor MACC office once a month.
Mohd Edisahril’s lawyer, Mohd Shahrullah Khan Nawab Zadah Khan, requested a lower bail, saying the accused was a father of three and had cooperated throughout the investigation.
The judge set bail at RM10,000 in one surety and imposed the additional conditions proposed by the prosecution.
In a separate case at the same court, a restaurant owner pleaded not guilty to a charge of giving RM18,000 in bribes to a marine police officer.
According to the charge sheet, Sioh Poh Keong was accused of offering RM18,000 as an inducement to an inspector from the Johor Baru Marine Police Region 2 to avoid action being taken against him for the possession of untaxed alcohol.
Sioh, 51, was accused of committing the offence at about 2.30pm on June 19 in Taman Air Biru, Pasir Gudang.
He was charged under Section 17(b) of the MACC Act with offering bribes.
If convicted, he could face a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe offered, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The case was also prosecuted by Wan Shaharuddin, who requested that bail be set between RM5,000 and RM10,000.
He also asked the court to impose additional conditions: that the accused must surrender his passport and report to the MACC office once a month.
Sioh’s lawyer, K. Bharathi from the National Legal Aid Foundation, requested a lower bail.
She said the accused is taking care of his 67-year-old sister, who recently underwent surgery, and that Sioh earns about RM4,000 a month from his business.
The court set bail at RM5,000 in one surety and imposed the additional conditions proposed by the prosecution.
It set the next mention of both cases for Nov 10.
Both the accused posted bail.
