A former civil servant in Kota Kinabalu has been found guilty of abusing his power by awarding road maintenance projects to his sister’s company. Herwan Malik, 37, who worked as a civil engineer assistant, has been sentenced to 12 months in jail and fined RM20,000 by Sessions Court judge Abu Bakar Manat. The court determined that the prosecution had convincingly proven their case while the defense was unable to raise reasonable doubts. However, the accused has been granted a stay of execution pending an appeal to the High Court.
Earlier, the same court had sentenced Herwan to 12 months imprisonment and fined him RM10,000 for each charge. The custodial sentence was to be served concurrently. The charges against him involved the abuse of his position as a committee member of the Kota Marudu district office. He had allegedly manipulated the project price quotation to favor his sister’s company for road maintenance projects in Kampung Sungai Laut and Kampung Pendawar, both in Kota Marudu. The offenses took place in February 2013 and April 2014, respectively.
The charges against Herwan were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and were punishable under Section 24 of the same Act. Under this law, offenders face a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher. The trial on behalf of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah. Herwan was represented by counsel Shahlan Jufri. During the trial period, the prosecution presented 13 witnesses, while the accused was the sole witness for his defense.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
