[UPDATED] Immigration officer charged over nearly RM1mil in bribes

New Straits Times

4 days ago

SHAH ALAM: An Immigration Department senior deputy assistant director claimed trial at the Sessions Court today to five charges of receiving and transferring RM933,295 in proceeds from illegal activities between 2022 and last year.
Nas Suffian Nasrun, 41, entered his plea after the charges were read out to him before judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin.
Clad in a blue shirt, Nas Suffian listened to each charge attentively before pleading not guilty while his family members sat at the public gallery during the proceedings.
He looked calm throughout the proceedings, telling the court he understood each charge, the penalties and consequences of his plea.
His family members looked visibly sad and some had their heads bowed as the charges were being read out.
On the first count, was accused of being directly involved in transactions worth RM224,840 of proceeds from illegal activities from a special pass agent's bank account to his mother's bank account through 29 online transactions.
On the second count, he was alleged to have received RM297,600 of illegal proceeds in his bank account through 29 transactions from the same agent.
On the third to fifth count, he was accused of having transferred RM113,375, RM209,080 and RM88,400 from his own bank account to his accomplice, who is also an immigration officer, his mother and a company through 104 transactions.
He allegedly committed the offences at two banks in Kajang and Kota Damansara between July 29, 2022 and Sept 23, 2024.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(a) and Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.
Each charge carries a jail term not exceeding 15-years and a fine not less than five times the amount of bribe or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Siti Amirah Muhammad Ali did not offer bail as the offences are non-bailable.
Howevever, she said the court should set RM800,000 with one surety if it wanted to use its discretion to grant bail.
She also urged the court to order the accused the surrender his passport to the court, report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Johor monthly and not harass prosecution witnesses if he was granted bail.
"Although he is a civil servant, he is a flight risk. He is an immigration officer and we believe he is well versed with the country's borders," she said.
Lawyer Muhammad Zaim Rosli pleaded for a bail of between RM10,000 and RM15,000 for each charge and said his client had been with the Immigration Department for 19 years.
"My client's wife is also a senior immigration officer and they have five children aged between 7 and 15.
"He has a clean work record and never had disciplinary action taken against him. But, he faces the risk of being suspended after being charged today.
"He cooperated during investigations. The issue of him absconding does not arise and he has pledged to attend all court proceedings," he said.
Zaim said his client will also be hauled to the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex to face similar charges on Thursday (July 24).
After hearing the submissions, Nasir set bail at RM100,000 with one surety.
He ordered Nas Suffian to surrender his passport to the court, report to the MACC office monthly and not harass prosecution witnesses.
The court set Sept 12 for mention.