A former assistant engineer is freed after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction for receiving bribes involving home repair materials and cash.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today acquitted and discharged a former assistant engineer of eight corruption charges involving more than RM460,000.
A three-member bench allowed the appeal by Hairudin Ngadiron, setting aside his conviction and sentence of seven years and six months’ imprisonment and a fine of RM2.341 million.
Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah, delivering the unanimous ruling, held that the High Court had erred in overturning the Sessions Court’s acquittal on the first two charges.
He further ruled that the High Court had also erred in maintaining the third to eighth charges.
The court was satisfied the appellant’s defence had answered all charges and raised a reasonable doubt, warranting an acquittal.
Hairudin, 50, was accused of corruptly receiving RM465,886.32 in bribes between January and April 2017.
He allegedly received cash and home repair materials such as roofing iron and tiles, as well as vehicle repairs, as gratification for assisting in securing contracts at the police college.
The contracts pertained to repair works and the operation of facilities at the college’s sports complex in 2016.
In October 2020, the Sessions Court found Hairudin guilty on six corruption charges and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment and a fine of RM341,000.
However, the court acquitted and discharged him on two charges of receiving RM200,000 in cash.
In November 2023, the High Court upheld the conviction but overturned the acquittal on the first two charges.
It then imposed a sentence of seven years and six months’ imprisonment and a fine of RM1 million for each of those two counts.
The prosecution did not appeal the Sessions Court’s decision regarding Hairudin’s acquittal on nine separate money laundering charges.
