Kuala Lumpur: A freelance researcher for Bersatu’s Wan Saiful Wan Jan has pleaded not guilty before the sessions court here on a charge of failing to appear before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over an investigation.
Shafiq Abdul Halim was charged under Section 48(c) of the MACC Act, where he is accused of not complying with an order issued by MACC officer Shahidan Saparudin to show up at the MACC office to have his statement recorded.
The alleged offence took place on March 3.
If found guilty, Shafiq faces a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a maximum jail term of two years, or both.
Judge Suzana Hussin granted bail of RM10,000 in one surety and ordered Shafiq to surrender his passport to the court pending the disposal of his case.
The court fixed April 7 for the next mention.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib urged the court to issue a gag order against Shafiq, to prevent him from making any sub judice remarks about his court case.
Shafiq’s lawyer, Chetan Jetwani, objected to the application, saying the order sought by the prosecution was too vague.
Suzana told the prosecution to file a formal application for a gag order.
Shafiq was arrested by MACC last week for allegedly obstructing an investigation.
His arrest came after he alleged in a TikTok video MACC offered Wan Saiful RM10 million to tweak his statement to the authorities and implicate Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin in a corruption case.
Shafiq later apologised to MACC, saying he had “misspoken” and that the TikTok video in which he made the claim had been edited by cybertroopers from Pakatan Harapan.
Wan Saiful, who is the Tasek Gelugor MP, claimed trial last month to two charges of corruption in relation to the Jana Wibawa programme.
