IPOH: A marine police corporal who was charged with 43 counts of accepting bribes amounting to RM146,350 between 2016 and 2019, was slapped with another 101 counts of a similar offence, involving more than RM243,00, at the Sessions Court here.
Zubairi Abdul Mutalib, 60, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges before judge S. Indra Nehru and also requested that he be tried jointly with the 101 alternatives charges made against him.
The head of PSC 16 Patrol Vessel Machinery at the Marine Police Base in Kg Acheh, Sitiawan, was charged with receiving the bribes of between RM7,285 and RM123,390, from seven individuals, involving a total of RM243,040, between May 2016 and July 2019.
The bribes were as an inducement for him to not take action against owners of several fishing boats for flouting provisions in the Fisheries Act 1985.
He was alleged to have committed the offences at several locations in Sitiawan between May 2016 and July 2019.
The charge, under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, provides for an imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of RM10,000 or not less than five times the amount of the bribe, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
On the alternatives charges against him, they were framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides an imprisonment for up to two years, or fine, or both, if found guilty.
The court allowed him bail of RM48,000 with one surety for all charges and set March 31 for mention.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor from MACC, Nurul Wahida Jalaluddin, while Zubairi was represented by lawyer Muhammad Aizat Fakri.
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