KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Former Sarawak Public Works Department deputy director Ismail Ahim pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court yesterday to seven charges of receiving bribes under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, he faces a fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, on each count.

Ismail is accused of receiving RM8,264 in bribes in the form of cheques from a company for monthly payments for his wife’s car.

He is alleged to have received the payments from the company in April, May, July, September, October and November of 2007 and in January 2008 at an Ambank branch in Taman Maluri, Kuala Lumpur.

Defence counsel Fahri Azzat and P.G. Cyrill gave various reasons why Ismail should be granted bail.

They said Ismail served the public for 35 years and had a clean record, and he had cooperated with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the past 33 months by attending interview sessions.

They also said he had posted RM5,000 in bail with the MACC, had not left the country since 2009, and suffered from health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Morais had earlier said the charges were non-bailable and, in response to the defence, that no medical reports had been given to the MACC regarding Ismail’s health.

However, judge Mohd Nasir Nordin decided that Ismail be granted bail of RM3,000 for each count in one surety and set Nov 7 for re-mention.