BUTTERWORTH: An Immigration officer who was detained recently for causing a serious breach at the country's borders pleaded guilty to three counts of receiving cash totalling RM3,060 at the Sessions Court here, today.
Judge Norhayati Mohamad Yunus sentenced Akashah Roslan, 38, to 30 days' jail and a RM4,000 fine for each of the offences.
"The court finds the accused guilty and is convicted of the offence. As such, this court sentences the accused to 30 days' jail and a RM4,000 fine for each of the offences, in default of four months' jail. The sentences will run concurrently," she said.
Altogether, Akashah will serve a total of 30 days' jail beginning today and pay a RM12,000 fine.
The three charges were pressed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for a public servant to obtain a valuable thing, such as land or money, without adequate or any consideration, from somebody involved in a proceeding or business related to his (public servant's) official function (duties).
On the first count, Akashah, who works at the Immigration Department in Bangunan Sultan Iskandar in Johor, had pleaded guilty to accepting RM2,160 from one Mohd Azril Azizan, 37, through his personal bank account, whom he knew had connection with his official duties, at the CIMB Bank Bhd in Bayan Baru between June 22 and 24, 2018.
On the second and third counts, he also pleaded guilty to accepting RM100 and RM800 from Azril for the same purpose at the same place on Aug 21 and Sept 14, 2018.
According to the facts of the case, Akashah was nabbed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Nov 16 during an operation at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar in Johor. He started working there from April 10, 2016.
Akashah had stamped the Immigration Department stamp on passports of foreign workers without their presence to enable them to remain in the country.
He had worked with middleman Azril, who provided him with the passports of the foreigners, at mamak restaurants around Johor, before returning them to Azril at the same restaurants.
Azril then made payments into Akashah's CIMB accounts online after each task.
Both Akashah and Azril met while working in the Foreign Workers Department in 2012. However, Akashah only started committing offences in 2018.
Akashah's counsel, Benjamin Tan, said in mitigation that his client pleaded guilty at the very first given opportunity.
He said the guilty admission saved the court's time and cost.
"He regretted his actions and promised not to repeat them again. Also, he has been remanded for 12 days following his arrest," he said.
Tan said his client has three small children, aged 3, 6 and 11.
"He is the sole breadwinner in the family. Also, he is suffering from hypertension and other health issues.
"His wife also had to quit her job as an assistant administrative worker after she suffered a slipped disc, diabetes and hypertension," he added.
Tan said Akashah's admission may result in him losing his job and pension.
Deputy public prosecutor S. Selvaranjini pressed for a heavy sentence, saying that graft was becoming a serious issue in the country.
"Malaysia even set up a special court to try court cases. Also, the accused had betrayed Malaysians' trust in the civil service, mainly the Immigration Department, with his actions.
"The passport stamping issue is serious as it involves a syndicate. Today itself, seven Immigration officers nationwide are charged with similar offences," he added.
