Sabah assistant minister, Sindumin rep and businessman charged with RM350,000 bribes for mining licences in state
KOTA KINABALU, June 30 — Two assemblyman pleaded not guilty in court today for receiving bribes from businessman Datuk Albert Tei amounting to RM350,000 in total for assistance in getting approval for a mineral prospecting licence in Sabah.
Sindumin assemblyman Datuk Yusof Yacob was accused of receiving RM200,000 in cash from Tei on March 6, 2023 at the rooftop restaurant in Hilton hotel at around 2pm in exchange for help in the application and approval process for a mineral prospecting licence for Syarikat Nusa Kini Sdn Bhd in Sabah.
Tanjung Batu assemblyman and Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Assistant Minister Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy was charged with receiving RM150,000 cash from Tei on May 12, 2023 at 11pm in front of his residence along Jalan Pantai, Sembulan, similarly in exchange for help to apply and approve the mineral prospecting licence for another company, Syarikat Sinaran Hayat Sdn Bhd, in Sabah.
Both are Sabah-based companies where Tei is a partner.
Tei, 37, was also charged and pleaded not guilty to offering the bribes.
Special Corruption Court Judge Jason Juga set August 5 for pretrial case management of all three men.
Bail for the two assemblymen was set at RM50,000 with RM10,000 fully deposited today with a local surety; hey were also asked to surrender his passport.
Bail for Tei was set at RM60,000 for both charges with RM15,000 to be deposited today and surrender his passport.
They were all also asked to check in with the nearest Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office once every two months until the case is over.
The charges against Andi and Yusof were under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009 for accepting bribes while Tei was charged under Section 16(b)(A) of the Act for offering bribes.
They carry sentences of imprisonment up to twenty years and fines not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe.
Previous media reports alleged that Tei to be the businessman behind several videos implicating politicians in corrupt activities between 2023 and 2024.
The videos were published by online portal Malaysiakini before being handed to MACC for investigation.
Some 100 supporters of both assemblymen also came to court but were not allowed into the courtroom due to the lack of space.
Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah secretary Datuk Mohamed Razali Razi attended the proceedings.
Yusof and Andi were represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Shahlan Jufri and Ridzwandean Bukhari M Borhan.
Tei was represented by Edward Paul.
The deputy public prosecutor was Nurul Izzati Sapiflee and Rustam Sanip.
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