The chief executive officer of a gold mining company and a government department senior assistant director have pleaded not guilty to separate bribery charges at the Sessions Court here.
Chong Tze Khen, 69, and Robert Robin Millip, 60, entered their pleas after the charges were read before Sessions Court Judge Andi Razalijaya A Dadi on Monday.
Tze Khen faces three charges of allegedly giving cash loans totalling RM18,000 to Robert, who was then the Senior Assistant Director of the Minerals Division at the Sabah Land and Mines Department (JTU), as an alleged inducement to facilitate the company’s gold mining operations.
For the first charge, Tze Khen is accused of giving RM10,000 to Robert at a restaurant in Kota Kinabalu in April 2024.
He is then alleged to have given another RM3,000 in October 2024, followed by RM5,000 at a shop in Kota Kinabalu in October 2025.
All three charges were brought under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and are punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
Robert, who remains the Senior Assistant Director of the JTU Sabah Minerals Division, faces three charges of allegedly accepting the cash loans from Tze Khen.
The first charge involves RM10,000 allegedly received in April 2024 at a restaurant in Kota Kinabalu, which the prosecution claims was given as an inducement to facilitate the company’s gold mining operations.
The second and third charges involve alleged cash loans of RM3,000 and RM5,000 received at a coffee shop in Kota Kinabalu in October 2024 and October 2025 respectively.
MACC prosecuting officer Norsham Saharom proposed bail of RM10,000 for each accused, with two local sureties each. She also asked the court to require both men to report regularly to the MACC, surrender their passports and refrain from contacting any witnesses.
Defence lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, however, asked for Robert’s bail to be reduced by RM5,000. For Tze Khen, he also requested that his passport be temporarily released so he could attend his child’s convocation in Perth, Australia, in October.
Judge Andi Razalijaya subsequently set bail at RM8,000 each with two local sureties.
Both men were ordered to report to the nearest MACC office and surrender their passports to the court.
Tze Khen was told to make a separate application if he wishes to travel overseas.
The two accused were also represented by lawyers Prem Elmer Ganasan, Jason Chin and Beverly Ivy.
