2 days ago
Ex-civil servant fined for corruption involving towing services
Abel (right) outside the court with his counsel Dominic (second left) after the proceedings on Tuesday.
KOTA KINABALU (June 10): A former civil servant was fined RM700,000 by a Sessions Court here on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 15 corruption charges related to towing services.
Judge Jason Juga handed down the sentence to 52-year-old Abel Ongkunik, who had earlier pleaded guilty on March 14 to 15 to alternative charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code. The section provides for a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The prosecution offered the lesser charges after considering Abel's representation letter, which was accepted by the Deputy Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to the charges, Abel, while serving as the director of the Sabah Ports and Harbours Department, received between RM33,098.62 and RM59,724.30 for granting a company permission to carry out towing services within the Kimanis port limitation area in 2018. He was also charged with approving towing licenses for a company between August 28, 2017 and July 2, 2018.
The payments were made by two companies and deposited into the accounts of three different companies at bank branches in Kota Kinabalu, Lido and Kota Belud.
For each of the 15 charges, Abel was fined between RM38,000 and RM58,000. In default, he will serve six months in jail per charge.
Previously, on March 15, 2022, Abel had claimed trial to 29 charges under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, involving a total sum of RM1,290,706.19.
The court later withdrew 15 of the original charges, while the remaining 14 were taken into consideration under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code during sentencing.
The court also ordered the return of Abel's passport and the refund of his bail. He was represented by counsel Dominic Chew.
Abel paid the fines.
