KOTA KINABALU, Feb 10 — Four federal statutory body officers and two employees of a travel agency were arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Sabah last night to assist in investigations into false claims involving airline tickets amounting to about RM1.3 million.

According to a source, all six suspects — comprising two men and four women aged between their 30s and 50s — were detained at about 9.30pm at the Sabah MACC office when they turned up to give their statements.

The arrests were made following investigations into their alleged involvement in submitting false claims related to the purchase of airline tickets using air travel warrants.

“Initial investigations found that the flight details are believed to have been falsified, while no actual airline tickets were supplied by the company concerned to the officers and staff of the department,” the source said.

Meanwhile, Sabah MACC director Datuk Mohd Fuad Bee Basrah, when contacted, confirmed the arrests.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 for submitting documents containing false particulars.

“An application for remand against all the suspects will be made at the Kota Kinabalu Magistrate’s Court today to allow further investigations to be carried out,” he said.

He also said several follow-up arrests might be made in the future based on developments in the investigation. — Bernama