ALOR STAR: A former civil engineer from a private company was charged in the Sessions Court today for soliciting RM30,000 in bribes from a development company to approve a four-star resort project in Langkawi, seven years ago.
The accused, Syaiful Marzuki Roslan, 43, claimed trial before Judge Priscilla Hemamalini Nadarajan.
According to the charge, Syaiful, who was then a consultant engineer at Solusi Consultant, solicited a RM30,000 bribe from Seng Heng Piling Engineering chairman Soh Lai Ching in return for approving the project, a Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) initiative.
The project involved demolishing four existing rest houses and constructing a four-star resort, which included an 18-story condominium block with 60 residential units, a hotel facility, parking areas, and a swimming pool in Padang Matsirat, Pantai Tengah, Langkawi.
The approval enabled payments to be made by TNB to Seng Heng Piling Engineering.
The offence occurred on April 18, 2017, at approximately 4pm at the project's consultant office on-site.
The charge was framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
The offence carries imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
MACC Deputy Public Prosecutor Rasyidah Murni Adzmi and prosecuting officer Muhammad Taufik Awaludin handled the prosecution.
Meanwhile, the accused was represented by lawyers Ahmad Adha Amir Yasser and Nur Sarah Syamimi Syafie.
Initially, the prosecution requested bail of RM50,000 with one surety.
However, Adha pleaded with the judge to lower bail to the lowest possible amount, as the accused is no longer employed as an engineer and does odd jobs, earning less than RM1,500 to support his wife, five children, and mother.
The court allowed bail at RM12,000 with one surety and required the accused's passport to be surrendered.
The court set July 25 for document submission and mention. The accused has posted bail.