A businessman claimed trial over a bribery charge at the Ipoh Sessions/Magistrate Court today (April 8).
Lee Soon Teck (hereby referred to as the accused), 52, pleaded not guilty to the charge read in front of Judge S. Indra Nehru.
According to charge sheets, he was accused of bribing Muhammad Fithry Hassan, an enforcement assistant from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) with RM30,150, over the intention of not taking further action against the accused himself who was believed to be possessing subsidised fertilisers without a valid licence, as allocated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961.
He allegedly committed the offence at a premise named Guan Choon located in Parit Buntar, Kerian, around 10.30am on October 8, 2018.
The accused was charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 in which if convicted, subjects him to punishment under Section 24(1) of the same Act, entailing imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of five times the total amount of bribe funds or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The optional charge entails an offence under Section 214 of the Penal Code, subjecting him to imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Wahida Jalaluddin requested for a bail of RM60,000 along with a guarantor.
The accused’s lawyer, Irfan Arshad negotiated for a minimum bail amount without additional terms. He claimed that the bail is just to ensure the accused’s presence and that the amount of RM60,000 is too high, adding that the accused has nowhere to go, given the restriction on interstate travelling due to the ongoing Movement Control Order.
The court has ordered for a bail of RM25,000 with a guarantor and under the condition that the accused reports himself at the MACC Taiping office over the proceedings’ duration.
The case has been fixed for re-mention on July 22 this year.
Chris Teh
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Lee Soon Teck is the Accused not Defendant. This is the correct term in a criminal trial as opposed to that in a civil trial.
Hi Cheng, thank you for kindly correcting us. The necessary amendments have been made.