Kota Kinabalu: A 35-year-old assistant engineer from the Irrigation and Drainage Department has been acquitted of a bribery charge after the Sessions Court ruled there was no prima facie case against her.
Judge Jason Juga discharged and acquitted Nurul Syazwanie Idris, stating the prosecution had failed to prove the elements of the offence under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
Nurul was accused of accepting a RM1,838 bribe from Muhammad Hafiz Ibrahim as a reward for allegedly helping Syarikat Royal Sports secure supply works for the H20 Run programme organised by the department’s sports and entertainment club.
The alleged offence occurred between 10.10am and 10.20am on March 17, 2017, at the department’s office here.
If convicted, she could have faced up to 20 years in jail or a fine of at least five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
During the trial, the prosecution called 20 witnesses, but the court found the evidence insufficient to support the charge.
In his ruling, Judge Jason said the prosecution failed to prove that Nurul had received the gratification as a reward (sebagai upah) for aiding the company in securing the supply contract.
“After maximum evaluation of the evidence, the court finds it is not safe to conclude that the accused received the alleged gratification,” he said, adding that the court could not convict her even if she remained silent during the defence stage.
As such, the court held that no prima facie case was established and ordered Nurul’s acquittal under Section 173(f)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Datuk Ram Singh and Prem Elmer defended Nurul.
