15-05-2025
Three charged in Johor driving test scheme involving bribes for passes
JOHOR BARU: An agency owner and her two former clerks have been hit with a total of 106 charges for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for allowing driving test candidates to pass their computer-based theory tests without actually sitting for them.
The accused, Nuratika Natasha Mohd Salleh, 25, Nureita Amat Pale, 36, and Siti Norafidah Othman, 45, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out before Sessions Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail here.
The trio worked under an agency responsible for recruiting students for a driving institute in Johor Baru.
Nuratika Natasha faces 29 charges of allegedly receiving RM48,741 from a woman as a bribe to arrange for candidates to pass the theory test without attending it.
Nureita is charged with 24 counts for allegedly receiving RM21,172 from Nuratika Natasha linked to the same scheme.
Their former employer, Siti Norafidah, faces 53 charges for allegedly collaborating in the illegal scheme alongside the two clerks.
They were accused of committing the offences at various banks around Felda Air Tawar and Bandar Penawar in Kota Tinggi between August and October 2023.
All three were charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for soliciting or accepting gratification.
Siti Norafidah was also charged under Section 28(1)(c) for abetting or conspiring to commit offences under the same Act.
If found guilty, they could face up to 20 years in prison and fines of no less than five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Nuratika Natasha and Nureita were represented by lawyers Syufri A. Samad and Naufal Amran, while Siti Norafidah was represented by Abd Rahim Ali.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Fazal Lisam Abidin.
Bail was set at RM7,000 with one surety each for the two clerks, and RM10,000 with one surety for the agency owner.
The next mention for the case is scheduled for June 26.
The court also ordered all three accused to surrender their passports and report monthly to the nearest MACC office.
All have since posted bail.
