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TAWAU: An education officer was arraigned before the Special Corruption Court, Friday, on a charge of accepting a RM5,000 bribe from a contractor in September 2020. Abdul Samad Amara, 44, however, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to him before Judge Abu Bakar Manat.

The accused, who was at that time serving as the head of the Infrastructure and Development Unit at the Tawau District Education Office, was alleged to have received RM5,000 in cash from Mohd Soleh Abu Bakar, the owner of MS Construction and Engineering Consortium.

The cash was an inducement to favour the said company for repair and maintenance works, with a contract value of RM223,247, at Sekolah Kebangsaan Balung, Tawau.

The alleged incident was said to have taken place in a Perodua Myvi car at Taman Univilla here on Sept 11, 2020, and the charge was made under Section 165 of the Penal Code. If convicted the accused can be sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine or both.

The prosecution was conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) prosecuting officer Nurul Izzati Sapifee while the accused was unrepresented.

The court set bail at RM5,000, with one local surety. The accused must report to the MACC office every two months, surrender his passport to the court and not harass witnesses. The judge set June 3 for remention of the case.