GEORGE TOWN: A 73-year-old former executive director of the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB) has been remanded for six days by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for abuse of power.
Penang MACC said it had remanded the individual, who is also a special officer to the current Penang deputy chief minister, for allegedly abusing his position to obtain about RM300,000 in money related to the purchase of a golden chariot.
“Magistrate Siti Nurul Suhaila Baharin allowed the man with a Datuk title to be remanded until Dec 10 after an application was made by MACC at a George Town Magistrate’s Court.
“The man is believed to have committed the act around 2019.
“Preliminary investigations found that the suspect and a former deputy chief minister had obtained more than RM300,000 from the special allocation account for themselves.
“The money involved the purchase of a golden chariot from an overseas company in which both have an interest.
“The former deputy chief minister is also believed to have abused his position by approving the granting of medical aid in 2020 amounting to RM50,000 to his allies,” MACC said in a statement yesterday.
The suspect’s lawyer R. Roshunraj, when contacted, said he objected to the remand order as his client has health issues.
“The six-day period is excessive and something we only hear of for criminals in serious crimes like murder.
“He is not in the best of health and needs to take special (prescribed) medication. He has diabetes, hypertension and allergic rhinitis, which require specialised medication,” he said.
Roshunraj said according to MACC, it needed the additional time to complete investigations.
“This is the reason I was given. They have not (disclosed) what they are looking into during this investigation,” he said.
Roshunraj said his client was brought to the MACC office for questioning on Wednesday before being told he was being held.
“He noticed MACC officers outside his house in Seberang Perai at around 7am.
“They asked him to follow them to their office in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah on the island.
“They initially did not tell him he was being arrested. Later at the office, he was told that he was being detained,” he said.
He said MACC was investigating his client under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 for alleged abuse of power, but no further details were given.
Penang MACC director Datuk Mohd Fuad Bee Basrah, when contacted, confirmed the arrest of the special officer to the current deputy chief minister.
He said the man is prevented from leaving the country until the investigation is completed.
