KUANTAN, June 29 — The Sessions Court here today ordered former Temerloh district police chief Mohd Azhar Mohd Yusoff to enter his defence on 46 counts of accepting bribes totalling RM69,600 between 2019 and 2023.

Judge Sazlina Safie made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the 56-year-old at the close of the prosecution’s case.

In her judgment, Sazlina held that both the principal charges and the alternative charges were properly framed and legally valid, and did not contravene Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code or Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.

“The court finds and rules that the prosecution has successfully established a prima facie case on all 46 principal charges faced by the accused under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

“The court also rules that the statutory presumption under Section 53 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 applies to the accused,” she said during the proceedings.

Accordingly, the court ordered Mohd Azhar to enter his defence on all the charges.

The court fixed Aug 19 for the defence proceedings, with Mohd Azhar to give sworn testimony from the witness stand.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry and Ifa Sirrhu Samsudin, while the accused was represented by Datuk Bob S. Arumugam and M. Athimulan.

On September 7, 2023, Mohd Azhar pleaded not guilty to 46 charges of accepting sums ranging from RM100 to RM5,600, which were allegedly transferred online into his bank account by several individuals and companies that had dealings related to his official duties.

He was alleged to have committed the offences while serving as the Temerloh district police chief between March 2019 and January 2023. — Bernama