KUALA TERENGGANU: A senior administrative officer at the Terengganu Religious Affairs Department (JHEAT) pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to 24 counts of abuse of power by awarding departmental vehicle repair work to his wife’s company two years ago.

The accused, Ali Embong, 60, made the plea after all charges were read out to him before Judge Mohd Azhar Othman.

According to the charges, Ali is accused of using his position as a public official to gain gratification by recommending the service/repair/procurement application forms for department vehicles for maintenance services worth a total of RM24,267, which had interests involving his wife Noor Mala Ngah, the owner of Kerjasama Servis Trading.

The offenses were allegedly committed between October and December 2022 at JHEAT, and charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

If found guilty, he can be punished under Section 24 of the same Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The court granted Ali bail at RM20,000 for all charges with one surety. He was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court, refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses, and report to the nearest MACC office every month until the case is resolved.

The judge then set July 10 for mention and case management.

The prosecution was handled by MACC Deputy Public Prosecutor Aznika Mohd Anas while the accused was represented by lawyer Nur Ain Mohd Rani from the National Legal Aid Foundation.

Meanwhile, a man in his 40s was remanded for six days on suspicion of submitting false documents to secure a job at a foundation under the Terengganu state government.

The remand order until Monday (June 10) was issued by Magistrate Noor Mazrinie Mahmood to facilitate investigations under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009.