KOTA KINABALU, SABAH – Two men were charged in the Special Corruptions Court here after found giving and receiving bribes pertaining to the change of the Land Lot Zone status in Kampung Bantayan here.
J22 draftsman Athanasius John Malis, 58, and Town and Country Planning Officer (J48) Shahrum Radzlee Samlih, 38, each pleaded not guilty to the four charges read before Judge Abu Bakar Manat.
According to the first charge, Athanasius solicited a cash bribe of RM15,000, an advance of RM60,000 from Muhammad Hasri Lim Abdullah as inducement to change the Kampung Bantayan Kota Kinabalu Land Lot Zone from a Countryside to Residential Zone.
The alleged bribe on 5th September 2019 at Karamunsing shopping mall was to bypass approval from the Central Planning Board (LPPBD) and Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK).
The second charge stated the accused obtained RM15,000 from the same person at the Tun Fuad Stephen Jalan Karamunsing Car Park and the third charge shows the accused had received the RM45,000 balance of the promised RM60,000 on November 20, 2019 at the Grace Point Food Court Car Park Lot at Jalan Pantai Sembulan.
The accused was charged under Section 16 (a) (A) of the Malaysian Anti -Corruption Commission (SPRM) Act 2009, and charged under Section 17 (a) of the ASPRM 2009.
Meanwhile, the charge sheet read to Shahrum said he received a bribe of RM22,500 from Athanasius on November 20, 2019 at the Medan Selera Car Parking Lot Grace Point Jalan Pantai Sembulan on the capacity of an agent for the Deputy Chief Director of the Sabah State Town and Regional Planning Department.
The bribe was to sign the Zone confirmation letter for the Kampung Bantayan Kota Kinabalu land lot as a Residential Zone also without obtaining permission from LPPBD and DBKK.
For the offense, the accused was charged under Section 17 (a) of ASPRM 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same Act.
Its penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000 (whichever is higher).
The court allowed RM20,000 bail for Athanasius who deposited RM10,000 with local surety. Shahrum’s meanwhile was set to RM15,000 who deposited RM8,000 with a local surety.
Both accused are required to surrender their international passports to the court and must report to the MACC Office once in every two months.
The accused is also strongly prohibited from harassing prosecution witnesses before and during the trial.
