TAWAU: Four company owners including a father and daughter were each fined between RM20,000 and RM34,000 by the Special Corruption Sessions Court, here, Tuesday for submitting false bank account statements and business licenses.
The accused, Bahrin Ambo Eri @ Erek, 56, and his daughter, Hasmizah, 29; Mohd Hafiz Irawan, 34; and Muhammad Endra Abd Sarakal, 41, pleaded guilty after the alternative charges were read out separately before Judge Abu Bakar Manat.
All of them were accused of using fake documents, namely bank statements and business licenses as genuine to the Semporna District Education Office (PPD) to get a tender to rent and manage the canteen of the primary school under the Ministry of Education Malaysia between Oct 26-27 2017.
Bahrin Ambo and Hasmizah were each fined RM32,000, while Mohd Hafiz and Mohammad Endra were fined RM34,000 and RM20,000 respectively.
Each accused faced four charges except for Muhammad Endra who faced two charges under Section 471 of the Penal Code punishable under Section 465 of the same code which carries a maximum prison term of two years or a fine or both upon conviction.
Abu Bakar, in his judgment, said the act of falsifying documents was among the mistakes often made by contractors in government tender procurement.
According to him, the offence could be avoided if they complied with all conditions and established procedures.
“I advise you if you want to enter the tender, you have to follow the conditions other than making sure the capital is sufficient in the bank account instead of falsifying documents,” he said.
Anti-Corruption Commission Malaysia (MACC) Prosecuting Officer Rekhraj Singh A/L Jaswant Singh prosecuted while all the accused were not represented.
.jpg)
