KUCHING, Feb 5 —A total of eight individuals, one of whom is a Vietnamese woman, were remanded across the state today to assist with investigations of bribery for monopolising all projects awarded by government departments in Sarawak.

The Magistrates’ Court here remanded the Vietnamese woman and three businessmen for five days.

Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali ordered the suspects aged in their 20s to 50s to be remanded until Feb 10.

This follows a remand application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to assist with investigations under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.

In Sibu, two business owners were remanded for one day to assist with the investigation.

Magistrate Romario Jonoi issued the order after granting the MACC application to remand the suspects aged 60 and 65.

Separately in Miri, Magistrate Sandy Yvette Freddy approved a four-day remand application by MACC Kuching officer Syed Mohd Faszuan Syed Razak for a government department engineer and a company manager.

It is understood that the two suspects, aged 51 and 52, were apprehended at 7.30am yesterday at their homes in the city.

According to a source, MACC seized over RM1 million in cash, an apartment, and a vehicle among other items during the arrests across Sarawak yesterday.

Earlier reports said preliminary investigations indicated that the monopoly had been active since 2006, with contractors allegedly permitting the use of their licences in exchange for commissions of up to 10 per cent of the project value.

The engineer allegedly received payments for assisting in securing projects for the department. — The Borneo Post