Kuala Lumpur: Former human resources minister M Saravanan has claimed trial in the sessions court here to three charges of receiving bribes totalling RM1.097 million in connection with foreign worker quotas about four years ago.
Saravanan, 58, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him before judge Azura Alwi.
He is accused of receiving the money from Vectica Resources Sdn Bhd director Tan Teck Lim through Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad as an inducement to approve, in his capacity as human resources minister, an application for 1,000 foreign worker quotas for TYKB Engineering Sdn Bhd.
Saravanan, the MIC deputy president, allegedly received the funds in three tranches between June and July 2022.
For the first charge, Saravanan allegedly received RM150,000 in cash from Tan through Syed Amirul at the Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort on June 16, 2022.
For the second charge, he allegedly received another RM350,000 in cash from Tan through Syed Amirul at Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar, on July 7, 2022.
The third charge concerns RM597,000 allegedly received from Tan through Syed Amirul via a Maybank Islamic cheque, which was deposited into a Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Big Seven Ventures Sdn Bhd.
The third offence allegedly took place at the bank’s Jalan Klang Lama branch on July 7.
All three charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
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