KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Big Blue Premium Taxi Services founder Datuk Shamsubahrin Ismail today pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to accepting a RM10,000 bribe.

The 55-year-old, who was bound in a wheelchair, is charged with receiving the money via a Malayan Banking Berhad account belonging to Yusfazila Md Yusoff, 38, as an inducement to help settle the case of one Azizan Mohamed Yasin at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.

The businessman was accused of committing the offence at AmBank, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, here at 1.47pm on March 4.

He was charged under Section 16 (a) (A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries 20 years’ jail and a fine of up to five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Shamsubahrin’s lawyer Muhammad Noor Azfar Muhammad Noor urged the court for minimum bail on the grounds that his client was the sole breadwinner of the family.

"My client is also suffering from chronic ailments such as kidney disease and cancer,” he said.

Sessions Judge Rozina Ayub set bail at RM2,000 with one surety and ordered for Shamsubahrin’s passport to be impounded.

Case mention has been fixed for October 1. — Bernama