KANGAR: A businessman pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to the charge of offering a bribe amounting to RM200,000 to a police inspector in February last year.
The accused, Teow Kok Guan, 33, made the plea before Judge Norsalha Hamzah.
According to the charge, Teow is accused of corruptly offering RM200,000 in cash to Inspector Muhamad Taufiq Ibrahim, an operations officer at the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department, Perlis contingent police headquarters (IPK).
The bribe was intended as an inducement to secure the release of a bonded lorry with vehicle registration number PNX 3913, which had been impounded for an offence under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
The alleged offence occurred at Company D Camp, General Operations Force (GOF) Battalion 1, Kuala Perlis at 9 am on Feb 19, 2023, and he is charged under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and could face penalties under Section 24(1) of the same law.
If convicted, he faces a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever amount is higher.
The court allowed Teow a bail of RM55,000 in one surety and ordered him to report to the nearby MACC office every month.
The court set Sept 12 for the remention of the case.
