MELAKA: Three police officers pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to two counts of soliciting and receiving bribes, allegedly to protect a couple found in a "compromising position" inside a car.
The accused, Corporal Muhammad Najib Muhamad, 36, Corporal Muhamad Adham Samsudin, 34, and Lance Corporal Wan Muhammad Fauzi Zulkefli, 29, entered their plea before Judge Elesabet Paya Wan on Tuesday (Oct 22).
According to the charge sheet, all three were accused of soliciting bribes totalling RM3,000 from the couple, allegedly as an inducement to refrain from taking further action after the couple were caught together inside a vehicle last year.
The offence occurred at the Melaka Tengah police station between 2:40am and 3:30am on October 7, 2023.
The trio also allegedly accepted the bribe at a location near the Jonker Walk Tourist Police beat between 4am and 4:30am on the same day.
The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of at least five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by MACC officer Abd Muntaqim Abdul Aziz, while the three accused were represented by lawyer Umar Zulkarnain.
The court granted bail of RM8,000 for each of the accused and ordered them to surrender their passports and report to the MACC office once a month until the conclusion of the case.
The next mention of the case has been set for Nov 20.
