Dungun council staff charged with abusing position to award tenders to family and friends
KUALA TERENGGANU: A Dungun Municipal Council (MPD) staff member was charged with four counts of using his position to award tenders worth nearly RM5mil to companies owned by family members and friends.
Mohammad Hanif Ahmad, 41, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before Judge Mohd Azhar Othman at the Sessions Court here on Wednesday (April 30).
On all four charges, he was charged in his capacity as an assistant quantity surveyor at MPD, to have abused his position as a member of the Tender Secretariat (Supplies and Services) of the finance committee, by recommending three companies owned by his father, brother and an an associate, respectively, to be awarded contracts worth nearly RM5mil for public cleaning and related works for two years.
He was charged with committing the offence at the MPD in Dungun between Dec 16, 2018, and March 9, 2021.
The charges were framed under Section 24 (1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The court allowed him bail of RM18,000 with one surety and also ordered him not to disturb witnesses as well as surrender his passport.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Hanif's wife, Maimunah Syahbudin, 47, was charged in the same court with 10 counts of using false documents as genuine.
She pleaded guilty to all charges.
The woman was charged under Section 471 of the Penal Code with dishonestly using documents that she knew to be false as genuine, namely a company registration declaration certificate and account statements involving three different companies.
The offences were allegedly committed between Dec 17, 2020, and Jan 10, 2021, at the same place.
She faced imprisonment for up to two years or a fine, or both, if convicted.
Mohd Azhar allowed Maimunah bail of RM10,000 with one surety and set June 12 for mention. She was also ordered not to disturb witnesses and to surrender her passport to the court.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ezuain Farhana Ahmad from the MACC, while the couple was represented by lawyer Ghazali Ismail. – Bernama
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