Tawau court fines prosecuting officer RM15,000 for accepting bribe 

KOTA KINABALU – A police inspector serving as a prosecuting officer in the Tawau court was today slapped with a RM15,000 fine and 10 days jail for receiving a bribe.

Zakariah Kirinu, 40, pleaded guilty before the Tawau special corruption court to the charge of accepting a RM3,000 bribe to drop a suspect’s criminal case on April 10, 2016.

Zakariah had taken the bribe from one Mohd Akhbar Azis during an exchange inside a car parked in the parking lot just in front of the Tawau courthouse, according to details of the case shared by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) with the media.

The bribe was to secure Zakariah’s help in dropping a criminal case involving Akhbar’s father, Azis Awang involving the illegal possession/use of a firearm and a samurai sword. 

Zakariah was found guilty under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of no less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. – The Vibes, April 8, 2022