IPOH, Jan 3 — The Sessions Court today sentenced a lecturer at a private college here to a day's jail and fined him RM25,000 on five counts of soliciting and receiving bribes involving RM1,130 from two of his students, about two years ago.

Wong Chee Wai, 42, from Taman Indah Jaya here, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Institut Teknologi Perak (ITP), had pleaded not guilty to the charges before Judge Madihah Harullah when he was first charged in court on October 31 last year.

During re-mention of the case today, Wong changed his plea to guilty before Madihah.

On the first charge, the lecturer was accused of receiving RM250 from a male student who was repeating his paper on Statistics, as an inducement to increase the pass marks for the subject. He committed the offence in the stairwell between Block C and Block D, Greentown Square Building here at 4 pm, on October 10, 2011.           

Wong also agreed to accept RM300 from the same male student as an inducement to increase the pass marks for the Mathematics III paper, for Semester II, for the 2011/2012 session in the CR410 room, on the 3A Floor, ITP at 10.30 am on February 3, 2012.

He was also accused of receiving RM300 from the student for the same purpose at the stairwell between Block C and Block D, ITP at 2 pm, on Feb 8, 2012.

Judge Madihah sentenced him to a day's jail and fined him RM11,000 or eight months jail in default.

On the fourth charge, the lecturer had asked a RM140 bribe from a female student as an inducement to increase pass marks in the Mathematics IV subject for Semester I, for the 2011/2012 session at the ITP Library at 4.15 pm, on September 14, 2011.

Wong also allegedly received RM140 cash from the student for the same purpose in front of class CR410, on the 3rd Floor, Block E, ITP at 3 pm, on October 12, 2011.

The judge sentenced Wong to a day's jail and fined him RM14,000 or 10 months imprisonment in default and and allowed the prison sentences to run concurrently.

The accused was represented by counsel M.Kathan while Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Public Prosecutor A. Hafiizh Abu Bakar appeared for the prosecution. — Bernama