MELAKA: Three policemen pleaded not guilty at the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court here today to charges of soliciting and accepting bribes worth RM3,000 from a man and a woman last year.
On the first count, Muhamad Adham Samsudin, 34, Wan Muhamad Fauzi Zulkefli, 29, and Muhammad Najib Muhamad, 36, all from the Patrol Unit of the Melaka Tengah Police Station, are jointly charged with soliciting RM3,000 from a man and a woman as an inducement to not take action against them for being together in a car.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Melaka Tengah Police Station in Jalan Banda Kaba between 2.40pm and 3.30pm on Oct 7 last year.
They were also charged with accepting the RM3,000 bribe for the same purpose at a Tourist Police Booth at Jonker Walk Melaka between 4pm and 4.30pm the same day.
The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and read together with Section 34 of the penal Code, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Judge Elesabet Paya Wan allowed the three policemen bail of RM8,000 with one surety each. They were also ordered to surrender their passports to the court, report themselves at a MACC office once a month and not to intimidate witnesses.
She also set Nov 20 for mention.
The prosecution was conducted by prosecuting officer from MACC Abd Muntaqim Abdul Aziz while lawyer Umar Zulkarnain represented the three policemen.