ALOR STAR: A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officer today claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to 12 counts of corruption charges amounting to RM3,900 between July and December 2018.
Mohd Fazli Azizan, 38, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out by court interpreter before Judge N. Priscilla Hemamalini.
He is charged with accepting the bribes from a fishing boat owner Tan Kok Seng, 58, into his personal banking account in 12 separate transactions, worth between RM100 and RM600 each in the period of six months.
For the first charge, the accused is alleged to have received RM500 cash from Tan through online banking transfer via a Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Lee Chuan Liang into his Maybank Islamic Bhd account, despite realising that Tan has a connection with his official duty in the MMEA.
He is alleged to have committed the offence at Maybank Islamic Bhd branch in Jalan Sultan Badlishah here on July 5, 2018.
The accused also claimed trial to 11 other separate charges of accepting bribes from Tan worth RM500, RM200, RM100, RM150, RM600, RM150, RM600 from Tan via Lee's banking account into his personal banking account.
He is accused to have committed the offences on Aug 3, Sept 12, Sept 21, Oct 12, Oct 19, Oct 25, Oct 26, Nov 1, Nov 9, Nov 25, and Dec 2, 2018 at the same bank branch.
All the charges were framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code which carry up to two years' jail term, or a fine, or both upon conviction.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) prosecution officers Muhamad Taufik Awaludin and Mohd Syahzada Sanusi prosecuted, while lawyer Syed Naqiuddin Shahab represented the accused.
The prosecution proposed the court to fix the bail at RM5,000 for all charges.
However, Syed Naqiuddin pleaded for a lower bail amount as his client has two wives and three children to support.
The court subsequently fixed the bail at RM3,000 with one surety and set Mar 27 for mention date.
The court also ordered the accused to report himself at the nearest police station each month throughout the trial. The accused later posted the bail.
