A businessman pleaded not guilty to two counts of bribing an individual in connection with electricity theft offences at the Butterworth Sessions Court
BUTTERWORTH: A 40-year-old agricultural businessman pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here today to two charges of giving bribes totalling RM53,000.
Tiang Soon Ying is accused of bribing an individual in relation to offences under the Electricity Supply Act 1990.
The first charge alleges he gave RM10,000 in cash to Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus, 42, as an inducement to not take legal action against premises in Manjung and Sitiawan, Perak.
These premises were suspected of being used for offences under Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990.
The offences involved tampering with, abstracting, and using electricity, including damaging Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) installations at 20 premises.
For the second charge, he is accused of committing the same offence by giving RM43,000 in cash.
Both alleged offences occurred at a hotel in George Town at 3.30 pm on Jan 5, 2021, and 10.30 pm on Sept 15 of the same year.
The charges were framed under Section 16(b)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
This carries a punishment under Section 24(1) of up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the sum involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Prosecuting officer from the MACC, Sharul Aznan Ghazali, applied for bail of RM50,000 with one surety for both charges.
He also requested the case be transferred to the Ipoh Sessions Court to be heard concurrently with another case faced by Tiang.
The accused’s lawyer, Hong Chong Hang, appealed for a lower bail, citing his client’s responsibility to care for his parents and four children, three of whom are still in school.
Judge Zulhazmi Abdullah allowed bail at RM30,000 with one surety for both charges, along with the additional conditions requested by the prosecution.
The court set March 18 for mention of the case at the Ipoh Sessions Court.