KUALA TERENGGANU, May 8 — An assistant veterinary officer from the Terengganu Veterinary Services Department faced four corruption charges of abusing his position to secure vehicle repair works, at the Sessions Court here today.
Mohd Hisham Daud, 46, pleaded not guilty to all four charges that were read before Judge Mohd Azhar Othman.
He allegedly approved indent documents or local purchase orders for the supply of spare parts and maintenance of departmental vehicles to Serangkai Automobiles Sdn Bhd for RM8,578.69 between March 2019 and June 2020, for services that were not carried out.
He was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides for a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the false document or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Deputy public prosecutor Mariah Omar and MACC officer Nur Raihan Mohd Yusof appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was unrepresented.
Mariah proposed bail at RM15,000 with one surety, and additional conditions, including barring the accused from tampering with the witnesses, surrendering his passport to the court, and reporting monthly to the MACC office until the conclusion of the case.
Hisham appealed for a lower bail, however, citing financial constraints and his responsibilities towards his family and elderly mother.
Mohd Azhar set bail at RM6,000 with one surety, allowed the additional conditions, and instructed the accused to engage a lawyer before the next case mention scheduled for June 10. — Bernama
