The Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): 2020 has been an eventful year for the country s judiciary, with verdicts delivered for several high-profile cases – the most prominent involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Other court cases that took centre stage this year involved the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, including corruption, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering trials involving prominent leaders in the country.
On July 28, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was sentenced to 12 years jail and a RM210mil fine by High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali after finding him guilty on seven charges of CBT, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42mil of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): The trial of four corruption charges against former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng involving the Penang undersea tunnel project will commence on June 8, 2021.
Sessions Court Judge Justice Azura Alwi today fixed a total of 31 days of trial to take place on several dates in June to December next year. They are June 8-11, July 12-16, July 28-29, Aug 16-20, Sept 6-10, Sept 20-24 and Dec 13-17.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, who is leading the prosecution team, indicated to the judge that 80 to 90 witnesses will be called to testify against Guan Eng.
During case management today, the prosecution applied to amend some details of two of the charges involving the addition of a specific time frame of the alleged offence being committed and removal of some words that are not elements of the charge.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has brought to court seven Johor Immigration Department officers linked to bribery activities involving a syndicate which misused the country’s border entry and exit stamps.
The seven were charged yesterday in five states after the “Ops Selat” operation in Johor on Nov 16.
Two were charged at the Kota Baru Sessions Court, two at the Johor Baru Sessions Court and one each at the Butterworth Sessions Court, Shah Alam Sessions Court and Melaka Sessions Court.
One more is expected to be charged tomorrow at the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court.
In Butterworth, Akashah Roslan, 38, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined RM12,000 after he pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery as an inducement to misuse the immigration stamp.
The seven officers were charged in courts in Kelantan, Johor, Selangor, Melaka and Penang.
In Penang, 38-year-old Akashah Roslan was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined RM12,000 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery at the Butterworth Sessions Court.
Judge Norhayati Mohamad sentenced Akashah to 30 days jail to be served concurrently from the day of sentencing and fined him RM4,000 for each charge.
Akashah, who works as an immigration officer in Johor, was charged with three counts of taking money from 37-year-old Mohd Azril Azizan between June 2018 and Sept 2018.
Based on the information in the charge sheets, Akashah had received RM2,160 through a bank transaction in Jalan Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, Penang, from Mohd Azril between June 22 and June 24,2018 for services pertaining to his work.
JOHOR BARU: Two Immigration Department officers have been charged at the Sessions Court here following a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) operation called “Ops Selat” in Johor on Nov 16.
The accused, Azhar Ahmad M Salbi, 27, and Syafik Abu Khalipah, 25, faced eight corruption charges between them in front of Sessions Judge Kamarudin Kamsun here on Monday (Dec 14).
Azhar pleaded guilty to an alternative charge for accepting RM1,250 for issuing a stamp certificate of exit and entry of foreign passports some two years ago.
According to the charge sheet, Azhar, as an officer of the Immigration Department at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar here, received RM500 and RM750 from two agents through his bank account as an inducement to issue the stamp without leaving Malaysia between Feb 20 and April 9,2018.