KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — The Kedah Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission detained three Penang legal officers yesterday on suspicion of asking for RM500,000 in bribes from the public.

Kedah MACC director Datuk Shaharom Nizam Abd Manap said the first suspect, aged 42, was detained in a hotel in Penang at 12.15pm on Monday, while the other two suspects, aged 29 and 52, were detained at the Kedah MACC office at 10.15pm and 10.38pm yesterday.

He said initial investigations found that the suspects were believed to have sought bribes amounting to RM500,000 and had already received RM100,000 from a person in connection to a commercial case involving another person be brought to court.

He said the MACC was made to understand that one of the detained men was a department head in Penang.

"The three suspects will be brought to the Alor Setar Magistrate’s Court today for a remand application to facilitate the investigations,” he said in a statement here early today.

Shaharom Nizam said the MACC had also inspected the homes and offices of all the suspects and found and confiscated a sum of money.

"The MACC urges anyone who has been a victim of a syndicate connected to this case to immediately come forward to lodge a report with Kedah MACC,’” he said.

He added that the investigations were being conducted under Section 17 (a) of the MACC Act which provides for a jail sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. — Bernama