A civil servant was sentenced to four months in prison and fined RM15,000 by the Tawau Special Corruption Court today after being found guilty of accepting RM5,000 in cash from a contractor six years ago.
Judge Jason Juga handed down the sentence against the 48-year-old accused after hearing mitigation submissions from the defence and arguments from the prosecution.
The court also ordered the accused to serve an additional six months in prison if he failed to pay the fine.
According to the charge, the accused received RM5,000 in cash from the owner of a company inside a vehicle at Taman Univila, Tawau, on Sept 11, 2020.
At the time, the accused was alleged to have known that the payment was connected to his official duties as Head of the Infrastructure and Development Unit at the Tawau District Education Office.
The case was linked to repair and maintenance works at Sekolah Kebangsaan Balung, Tawau, worth RM223,247, which had been awarded to the contractor’s company.
The offence was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum two-year jail term, a fine, or both upon conviction.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Sabah prosecuting officer Norsham Saharom handled the prosecution, while the accused was represented by lawyer Muhammad Abdul Karim.
Earlier, the defence applied for a stay of the prison sentence pending an appeal at the High Court.
The court allowed the stay of the jail term but ordered the accused to pay the RM15,000 fine today.
