Former JKR Engineer Fined RM50,000 Over CSR Project Bribery

KOTA BHARU, April 14 (Bernama) -- A former senior civil engineer with the Public Works Department was fined RM50,000 by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to five alternative charges of accepting bribes related to the Central Spine Road (CSR) project.

Judge Dazuki Ali imposed the sentence on Muhamad Azly Abdul Aziz, 45, after the accused maintained his guilty plea when the five alternative charges were read to him.

The accused, who was attached to the Special Project Unit of the East Coast Economic Region Development at the JKR headquarters at the time, was charged with committing the offences between December 2022 and October 2023 at CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad, Jalan Maju branch here, by receiving bribes ranging from RM5,000 to RM10,000 in five transactions.

The bribes were received from an individual known as ‘Solehin’, believed to be the owner of a company, via online transfers into a CIMB Bank account belonging to a company registered under the name of the accused’s sibling.

Apart from receiving monthly financial benefits, the accused had also requested the individual to pay RM30,000 online for the purchase of a used Toyota Alphard.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Mariah Omar urged the court to impose a commensurate sentence on the accused, stressing that the offence was serious as it involved a public servant.

She said the offence had tarnished the integrity of the public service and eroded public trust in civil servants.

Defence counsel Azeezi Nordin, however, appealed for a lighter sentence, citing that his client had lost his pension and gratuity and faced social stigma following widespread media coverage of the case.

The court imposed a fine of RM12,000 for the first, fourth and fifth alternative charges, while RM7,000 fines were imposed for the second and third charges, bringing the total to RM50,000.

The accused also faces imprisonment of between three and four months for each charge if he fails to pay the fines.

The court also ordered that a multipurpose vehicle, a Toyota Alphard purchased using part of the bribe money, be forfeited to the Malaysian government.

Previously, the accused had been charged with 14 counts under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009. However, following representations by the defence, he was offered 14 alternative charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

He pleaded guilty to five of the alternative charges, while the remaining nine charges were taken into consideration (TIC) under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

-- BERNAMA