ALOR SETAR, Jan 18 — A primary school headmistress pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to six counts of accepting bribes amounting to RM6,837, in 2014 and 2015.

Noorlida Selamat, 56, made the plea after the charges against her were read out by a court interpreter before Judge Murtazadi Amran.

On the first count, the accused who was the headmistress for Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sungai Pasir Kechil, Sungai Petani, was charged with receiving RM450 through her Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) bank account, from Awang Kechik Bakar whom she knew had connection with her official duties.

Noorlida was alleged to have committed the offence, at a BIMB branch in Jalan Lagenda Height, Sungai Petani on August 7, 2014.

Advertisement

For the second and third count, she was alleged to have received RM214 and RM1,745, through her BIMB bank account, from the same person, at the same location, on August 16 and November 19, 2014, respectively.

On three other charges, Noorlida who is now the headmistress at SK Guar Kepayang, Pendang, was alleged to have received cheques amounting to RM4,428, from Awang Kechik, whom she knew had connection with her official functions.

She was accused of committing the offences at the SK Sungai Pasir Kechil headmaster’s room and the school office between March 24, April 9 and May 11, 2015.

Advertisement

The offences under Section 165 of the Penal Code (Act 574) is punishable with a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

The accused was allowed bail of RM3,000 in one surety for each of the charges and ordered her to surrender her passport to the court and report to the nearest Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office every month.

MACC’s prosecuting officer Mohamad Fauzee Azizan appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by counsel Mohd Khairul Hafizuddin Ramli.

The court set February 22 for mention. — Bernama