JOHOR BAHRU, Jan 21 — Three Immigration Department officers and a restaurant owner pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to corruption charges involving the “counter-setting” scandal at the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal and Muar Ferry Terminal, between three years ago and last year.

All three accused entered their pleas after the charges were read out separately before Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.

The first accused, Md Azhar Jamal, 40, who was attached to the Pasir Gudang Immigration Office as a Grade KP2 immigration officer, was charged with 14 counts of agreeing to accept bribes ranging from RM400 to RM4,500, totalling RM28,600, from a woman via online transfer from her bank account.

The alleged act was related to his official duties, which involved checking and ensuring that foreign nationals’ travel documents for entry and exit into Malaysia were valid.

For the alleged offences committed at a bank branch in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, between July 16, 2024 and February 24, 2025, Md Azhar was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which criminalises corruption by public servants and carries a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine, or both upon conviction.

The second accused, Ridzal Mohd Yasin, 43, who was attached to the Pasir Gudang Terminal Sea Entry and Exit Immigration Checkpoint (Jetty) as a Grade KP2 immigration officer, was charged with two counts of corruptly accepting a cash bribe totalling RM1,700 from a ticket agent of a company.

The acts were alleged to be an inducement to facilitate the entry of Indonesian travellers into Malaysia without conducting thorough inspections of their travel documents.

The alleged offences were committed in a toilet near the immigration counter at the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal between April 2023 and August 2023.

Another Grade KP2 immigration officer, Hairizam Mohamed, 58, who was attached to the Operations Control Division (Marine) at the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal, was accused of corruptly accepting RM100 from a man as an inducement to facilitate the entry of Indonesian travellers into Malaysia.

The alleged offence was committed at the Pasir Gudang Immigration Office at 7pm on August 28, 2024.

A 57-year-old business owner, Haslan Hazilah, was also charged with corruptly accepting a bribe of RM1,200 in cash from a man as an inducement to act as a middleman to assist in facilitating the entry and exit of Indonesian travellers to Malaysia via the Muar Ferry Terminal. The offence allegedly occurred at a restaurant in Muar on November 11, 2024.

The offences were framed under Section 16(a)(B) and Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The two sections criminalise the solicitation, receiving, or agreeing to receive gratification, with (A) covering general matters and (B) specifically targeting actions related to public officials.

Prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officers Ameera D’Aneez Mohd Shukari, Fazal Lisam Abidin and Muhd Faizul Kamaro Zaman.

Md Azhar was represented by counsel Abd Rahim Ali, while Ridzal was represented by lawyer Mohammad Muzammil Mohammad Hairiri. Hairizam was represented by counsel Suhaila Shafi’uddin, and Haslan was represented by lawyer Nurashidah Md Razip.

The court allowed Md Azhar bail of RM10,000, while Ridzal, Hairizam and Haslan were each allowed bail of RM8,000, with additional conditions to surrender their international passports and report to the nearest MACC office monthly.

The court set Feb 24 and 25 for the submission of documents.