Four police officers have pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court in Seremban after being charged with soliciting and accepting a bribe from a mother whose sons had been arrested for possession of syabu.
The officers, identified as Muhammad Ruzaini Firdaus Ismail, Muhammad Syahar Sansuddin @ Samsudin, Mohamad Ikhwan Shafiq Mohammad, and Muhammad Adib Hanizin, are all facing these allegations. Muhammad Ruzaini and Muhammad Syahar hold the rank of corporal, while the other two are lance corporals. All four are stationed at the Gemencheh police station.
The accused officers allegedly solicited RM3,000 from a 36-year-old woman whose two sons had been detained for the drug offense. They committed this alleged offense just after midnight on Aug 24 at the station.
Additionally, they are also charged with accepting RM800 from the same woman through a 53-year-old individual around 3am on the same day. This offense was allegedly committed at the same place.
They are facing charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act, which carries a punishment of up to 20 years in jail and a hefty fine of not less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Mohamad Azriff Firdaus Mohamad Ali, the deputy public prosecutor from MACC, requested the court to set bail at RM10,000 for each accused and to mandate monthly reporting at the Melaka MACC office until the case is resolved.
However, Azrul Zulkifli Stork, representing all four accused, requested a lower bail amount, expressing that the accused have families to support and earn between RM2,800 and RM3,200 a month, and also have to provide for their parents and in-laws.
Judge Meor Sulaiman set bail at RM3,500 per accused with one surety each and ordered them to report monthly at the Melaka MACC office. The case is scheduled for remention on Dec 12.
