JOHOR BARU: A food stall owner was charged in the Sessions Court here today with bribing a police officer four months ago with RM18,000.
Sioh Poh Keong, 51, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him by the court interpreter before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.
He is accused of corruptly offering a cash bribe of RM18,000 to an inspector from the marine police Region Two in Johor as an inducement for the officer not to take legal action against him for possessing alcoholic beverages with unpaid duties.
Sioh was alleged to have committed the offence in Taman Air Biru, Pasir Gudang, about 2.30pm on June 19.
The charge was framed under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same.
Sioh is liable to a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, should he be convicted.
MACC deputy director (Legal and Prosecution Division) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin offered bail of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, with additional conditions that the accused must surrender his international passport to the court and report to the MACC Johor office.
However, defence lawyer K. Bharathi, from the National Legal Aid Foundation, asked for a lower bail amount, saying her client only earns a monthly profit of RM4,000 from his food stall business.
"He also takes care of his 67-year-old sister, who has recently undergone surgery," she said.
Kamal granted bail of RM5,000 and ordered the accused to surrender his international passport to the court.
He then fixed Nov 10 for submission of the relevant documents.