London Vacations Refund To Azlan Man Was Improper, Says Witness  

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- The former manager of Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd told the Sessions Court here today that it was improper for a refund of RM430,279.95, for the cancellation of Datuk Seri Azlan Man's family vacation, to be made directly to the former Perlis Menteri Besar.

The seventh prosecution witness, Mohammad Azri Ahmad, 49, acknowledged that it was odd that the refund was returned to Azlan, because the Perlis state government had paid for the vacation packages to London, United Kingdom, in 2016 and 2017.

"Speaking on behalf of the company (Aidil Travel & Tours), I aim to provide proper service, but it was unusual and wrong in my view to return money from the state government to an individual," he said during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat.

Earlier, while reading his witness statement, Mohamad Azri explained that Azlan had canceled his vacation bookings to London in 2016 and 2017, amounting to RM253,195.40 and RM244,079.28 respectively, both of which had been paid for by the state government.

However, Mohamad Azri noted that a refund cheque for the 2016 cancellation of RM222,811.95 was deposited into Azlan's bank account.

“As for the 2017 vacation cancellation, Abdul Rahim Halim (the former sales manager of Aidil Travel & Tours) and I personally handed the refund of RM207,468 to Azlan at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Today is the seventh day of the trial of Azlan Man, the former Bintong state assemblyman, who faces 10 charges for submitting false claims and receiving proceeds from unlawful activities.

When Noralis inquired about the reason for Azlan’s cancellations, he explained that Abdul Rahim informed him Azlan faced time constraints and had requested a refund of the vacation deposits.

Noralis: Why was the vacation refund returned to Azlan's personal account?

Mohamad Azri: Because no bookings, such as tickets, were made, we returned the money through Herwady Hashim (the then senior private secretary to the Perlis Menteri Besar) to Datuk Seri Azlan.

In response to Noralis' question on how come he could remember the refund of the canceled vacation booking, Mohamad Azri replied, "I certainly remember because the company had never handled such a large amount before".

Azlan, 65, faces five counts of false claims for overseas vacation allowances amounting to over RM1.18 million, allegedly committed at the Perlis State Secretary's Office, Kompleks Dewan Undangan Negeri, Persiaran Wawasan, Kangar between December 2013 and December 2017.

The charges involve quotations for flight tickets to London and invoices from Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.

He is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher upon conviction. 

The trial before Judge Azura Alwi will resume on Nov 11.

-- BERNAMA