Albert Tei Charged With Giving Over RM176,000 In Bribes For Mining Licence Approval
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Businessman Albert Tei was charged in the Sessions Court here today on four charges of giving bribes, totalling RM176,829.03, to former Senior Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, to help secure approval for a mineral exploration licence in Sabah.
Albert Tei Jiann Cheing, 37, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before Judge Suzana Hussin.
“I understand (the charges). I plead not guilty and claim trial," he said.
Tei is charged with two counts of giving bribes of RM100,000 and RM40,000 to Shamsul Iskandar, 50, at a car park of a hotel in Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin and at a premises in Jalan Medang Serai, Bukit Bandaraya here between Nov 24, 2023, and Jan 29, 2024.
The bribes were allegedly given as an inducement for Shamsul Iskandar to help companies in which Tei had an interest obtain approval for mineral exploration licenses in Sabah.
He is also charged with two counts of giving bribes, namely furniture and electrical goods worth RM14,580.03 and RM22,249, respectively, to Shamsul Iskandar for the same purpose.
The act was allegedly committed at two locations, namely Jalan Medang Serai, Bukit Bandaraya here, between Dec 7, 2023, and Jan 31, 2024, and at Jalan P14a 1/1, Precinct 14, Putrajaya, between Feb 26, 2024, and March 5, 2024.
The four charges, framed under Section 17 (b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 (MACC) [Act 694] and punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same law, provide imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe that was the subject matter of the offence, if the bribe can be assessed, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Suzana allowed Tei bail of RM70,000 with two Malaysian sureties for all charges and set Jan 8 for mention for the submission of documents.
Tei was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court, report to a nearby MACC office once a month and not disturb witnesses in the case.
Earlier, the prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Farah Ezlin Yusop Khan, offered bail of RM300,000 with two Malaysian sureties with additional conditions that the accused report to the MACC Headquarters once a month, surrender his passport and not disturb witnesses.
"The accused has businesses in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as in Singapore, that require him to travel abroad. So I believe there is also a possibility that he is a flight risk...Therefore, I believe the amount of bail that we (the prosecution) are offering is reasonable," she said.
However, lawyer Latheefa Koya, representing Tei, requested that the bail amount be reduced, arguing that her client is supporting his family and that the amount involved in the charge is approximately RM176,000.
“There is no issue of non-cooperation on the part of the accused because, based on the charge, all the information that was read out came from our client. In fact, you could say our client was the source of the information,” she said.
On the additional condition requiring Tei’s passport to be surrendered to the court, Latheefa explained that her client’s passport had already been submitted to the Sessions Court in Sabah, and the accused has also been ordered to report to the MACC office.
“So far, there have been no complaints of the client failing to report to the MACC office as directed by the court, so there is no issue of non-cooperation,” said Latheefa, who was assisted by lawyers Mahajoth Singh, Eric Paulsen, N. Surendran and Rajesh Nagarajan.
-- BERNAMA
