ALOR STAR: A contractor today claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to two counts of selling bogus state awards in 2017.
Nik Hasyidat Nik Daut, 44, made the plea before judge Sharifah Norazlita Syed Salim Idid when the charge was read out to him by a court interpreter.
On the first count, Nik Hasyidat was charged with accepting RM1,000 from Ahmad Nazri Ibrahim, 57, as an inducement to obtain a bogus award, through his bank account at the CIMB bank branch in Jalan Tunku Ibrahim, here, at 3.37pm on June 15, 2020.
The accused also claimed trial to the second charge of accepting RM5,000 from the same individual as an inducement to obtain a bogus award, through his bank account at the same bank branch at 1.39pm on July 27, 2020.
He was charged under Section 13 of the Awards Act 2017 which carries a jail term up to 20 years, if convicted.
State prosecution director Khairul Azreem Mamat and deputy public prosecutor Siti Nurul Suhaila Baharin prosecuted while lawyer Nazri Awang represented the accused.
The court set RM20,000 bail for each charge with a guarantor. The accused was also ordered to report to the nearest police station every month.
Sharifah Norazlita fixed Dec 6 for mention. The accused paid for the bail.
Earlier today, Kedah police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said police had smashed a syndicate selling bogus "Datukship" awards purportedly bestowed by the Sultan of Kedah since 2015, with the arrest of 19 people here and from several other states.
He said police had seized fake Kedah Datukship Council membership cards, forged state emblems, accessories and other documents related to the bogus title from the syndicate.
He said police launched the investigation after receiving a report from the State Secretary's office on Oct 5 over several people using the Darjah Kebesaran Setia Diraja Kedah (DSDK) award without having received it from the Sultan of Kedah.
He said investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active since 2015.
The bogus titles were offered to businessmen and elite groups for between RM25,000 and RM103,000.