Johor man charged with bribing police RM18,500 to ignore friends’ criminal histories

JOHOR BAHRU, April 22 — A 31-year-old factory supervisor pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to a charge of bribing a police officer with RM18,500 to allegedly overlook his and his friends' criminal records.

The accused, M. Dhivan, made the plea after the charge was read to him in Bahasa Melayu before Judge Datuk Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim.

According to the charge sheet, Dhivan is accused of corruptly giving RM18,500 in cash to Sergeant Koshaziza Idris of the Segamat district police headquarters' patrol unit.

The bribe was allegedly an inducement for the officer to not take legal action against Dhivan and his friends, who reportedly have records related to criminal activities and drug possession.

The offence was allegedly committed in January last year at Kilometer 1.89 of Jalan Buloh Kasap-Segamat.

The charge was framed under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for offering a bribe.

If convicted under Section 24(1) of the same Act, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The prosecution, led by MACC prosecuting officer Fazal Lisam Abidin, argued for a high bail amount to serve as a public deterrent.

However, defence counsel K. Nahtan pleaded for a lower sum. He stated that his client, a father of two, earns only RM2,000 a month as a factory supervisor and supports his unemployed wife and young children.

Judge Che Wan Zaidi set bail at RM6,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to report to the Ipoh MACC office monthly.

The court fixed June 5 for the next case mention and for the submission of documents.