IPOH, March 13 — The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) staff suspected of engaging in corruption may have used their internal influence to facilitate their illegal activities in Lumut.
This was revealed with the remand of a sixth navy staff — a 39-year-old man with the rank of lieutenant commander — yesterday to aid investigations. He is the husband of one of the five navy suspects remanded before this.
The five-day remand order was handed down by magistrate Suhaima Mohd Noor.
Sources told Malay Mail the staff members were believed to have abused their positions to fill their coffers with navy funds.
“Their method was simple. They used their internal influence to make false procurement claims,” noted a source.
“We believe this involves marking up the prices of items procured by the department. Sometimes, they would even pretend to buy things which were not ordered.
“When the claim was approved, they would get part of the commission. Whatever they got would then be divided among themselves.”
The source said such a method was common in corruption cases.
He said the operation was believed to have been facilitated by more than one middleman, including some of the nine civilians nabbed.
On Wednesday, Malay Mail front-paged a report on the remand of five RMN staff members and nine civilians suspected of being involved in corrupt practices.
The RMN staff were arrested in and around the Lumut naval base. The civilians, including a woman, works for companies supplying items to the navy. All 14 were detained on Monday.
With sources estimating the corrupt activities had been going on for five to 10 years, the transactions could amount to millions.
Sources said the officer remanded yesterday was not in the same procurement department as his wife — also a lieutenant commander — but was stationed at the naval base.
“It is believed this man was part of the syndicate carrying out the corrupt practices, and the six people involved knew each other well,” said the source.
“Their extravagant purchases and lifestyle created suspicion and led to them being detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.”
Malay Mail published a report yesterday on the extent of the lavish lifestyle allegedly enjoyed by the staff, which included buying luxury cars, expensive watches and multiple pieces of property.
