Kota Kinabalu: A 41-year-old civil servant was freed from a charge of corruptly accepting RM22,500 bribe without his defence being called. Sessions Court Judge Jason Juga discharged and acquitted Shahrum Radzlee Samlih, after ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
Shahrum, who was the Chief Assistant Director of Sabah Town and Regional Planning Department, was accused of corruptly obtaining RM22,500 from Athanasius John Malis, as a reward for signing a zoning confirmation letter of a land lot at Kg Bantayan as the Residential “C”-R(C) zone, without the approval from the Town and Country Planning Central Board (LPPBD) and City Hall.
The offence allegedly took place in a car park at Medan Selera Grace Point in Jalan Pantai, Sembulan, here between 3.15pm and 3.45pm on Nov 20, 2019.
The offence under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of bribe received or RM10,000, whichever is higher, on conviction.
In arriving at the said decision, the court found that the prosecution had failed to establish the ingredients of the charge.
In order to sustain a charge under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009, it is incumbent for the prosecution to prove the necessary ingredients under the said section as follows: firstly, that the accused was an agent of the government, secondly, that the accused had agreed to accept for himself RM22,500 from Athanasius, and thirdly, once the two ingredients were satisfied, that the gratification was corruptly agreed to be accepted as a reward for signing a zoning confirmation letter without the approval from LPPBD and City Hall.
By evaluating the evidence presented before the court during the prosecution’s case based on the prevailing facts, the court found that the first ingredient was undisputed and thereby proven by the prosecution.
“I found that there are doubts on the evidence forwarded which render the second and third ingredients not satisfied.
After maximum evaluation of the prevailing evidence, I found it is not safe to presume that the accused had agreed to accept the alleged gratification as a reward for doing the act as stipulated in the charge.
“On the strength of the prosecution’s evidence, I’m not prepared to convict the accused in the event that he remains silent if defence is called.
Hence, there is no prima facie case and therefore, the accused should be entitled to acquittal and discharge without calling to enter upon his defence under section 173(f)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC),” the court ruled.
The prosecution called 28 witnesses to testify in court. MACC Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Izzati Sapifee conducted the prosecution while counsel Hamid Ismail defended Shahrum.
Shahrum, who was the Chief Assistant Director of Sabah Town and Regional Planning Department, was accused of corruptly obtaining RM22,500 from Athanasius John Malis, as a reward for signing a zoning confirmation letter of a land lot at Kg Bantayan as the Residential “C”-R(C) zone, without the approval from the Town and Country Planning Central Board (LPPBD) and City Hall.
The offence allegedly took place in a car park at Medan Selera Grace Point in Jalan Pantai, Sembulan, here between 3.15pm and 3.45pm on Nov 20, 2019.
The offence under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of bribe received or RM10,000, whichever is higher, on conviction.
In arriving at the said decision, the court found that the prosecution had failed to establish the ingredients of the charge.
In order to sustain a charge under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009, it is incumbent for the prosecution to prove the necessary ingredients under the said section as follows: firstly, that the accused was an agent of the government, secondly, that the accused had agreed to accept for himself RM22,500 from Athanasius, and thirdly, once the two ingredients were satisfied, that the gratification was corruptly agreed to be accepted as a reward for signing a zoning confirmation letter without the approval from LPPBD and City Hall.
By evaluating the evidence presented before the court during the prosecution’s case based on the prevailing facts, the court found that the first ingredient was undisputed and thereby proven by the prosecution.
“I found that there are doubts on the evidence forwarded which render the second and third ingredients not satisfied.
After maximum evaluation of the prevailing evidence, I found it is not safe to presume that the accused had agreed to accept the alleged gratification as a reward for doing the act as stipulated in the charge.
“On the strength of the prosecution’s evidence, I’m not prepared to convict the accused in the event that he remains silent if defence is called.
Hence, there is no prima facie case and therefore, the accused should be entitled to acquittal and discharge without calling to enter upon his defence under section 173(f)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC),” the court ruled.
The prosecution called 28 witnesses to testify in court. MACC Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Izzati Sapifee conducted the prosecution while counsel Hamid Ismail defended Shahrum.