Kota Kinabalu: A chief executive officer (CEO) and a civil servant were charged with giving and obtaining bribes totalling RM18,000 allegedly linked to gold mining operations in Tawau.
Chong Tzu Khen, 69, and Robert Robin Millip, 60, pleaded not guilty to three charges each before Sessions Court Judge Andi Razalijaya A Dadi on Monday.
Chong was charged with corruptly giving gratification to Robert, the Chief Assistant Director of the Mining Division at the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department, as an inducement to facilitate the gold mining operations of Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd (WRSB), involving cash loans of RM10,000 in April 2024, RM3,000 in October 2024 and RM5,000 in October 2025.
Robert was charged with corruptly obtaining the cash loans totalling RM18,000 from Chong, the CEO of WRSB, allegedly for the same purpose at the respective times and places, with Chong charged under Section 17(b) and Robert under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the Act.
The court released both on RM8,000 bail each with two local sureties, ordered them to report to the MACC office monthly, surrender their international passports and refrain from contacting prosecution witnesses, while pre-trial case management was fixed for Oct 27 and trial for Jan 11 to 13 next year.
