Four policemen have pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court in Seremban to charges of soliciting and accepting a bribe from a mother whose sons had been arrested for allegedly possessing syabu.
Muhammad Ruzaini Firdaus Ismail, Muhammad Syahar Sansuddin@ Samsudin, both 34; as well as Mohamad Ikhwan Shafiq Mohammad and Muhammad Adib Hanizin, both 27; held their plea in front of judge Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi on Wednesday (Nov 8).
Muhammad Ruzaini and Muhammad Syahar are koperal while Mohamad Ikhwan Shafiq Mohammad and Muhammad Adib Hanizin are lans koperal. All four worked at the Gemencheh police station.
The four were accused of soliciting RM3,000 from a 36-year-old woman whose two sons had been detained for allegedly possessing syabu. The alleged offence took place just after midnight on Aug 24 at the station.
They also faced a second charge for allegedly accepting RM800 from the woman at around 3am the same day through a 53-year-old individual, also at the station.
They were charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 of the same legislation and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in jail and be fined not less than five times the amount of the bribe involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The MACC deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Azriff Firdaus Mohamad Ali requested the court to set bail at RM10,000 for each of the accused, with an order to report to the Melaka MACC office once a month until the case is resolved.
In response, defence counsel Azrul Zulkifli Stork, representing all four accused, asked for a lower bail amount as his clients had families to provide for, earning between RM2,800 and RM3,200 a month and having to support their parents and in-laws. The judge then set bail at RM3,500 with one surety each and ordered the accused to report once a month at the Melaka MACC office, scheduling a remention for Dec 12.
