KANGAR: The son of the Perlis menteri besar pleaded not guilty before Judge Norsalha Hamzah in the Sessions Court here yesterday to a charge of submitting a false claim for RM19,505.10.

Mohd Syafeeq Mohd Shukri, 35, was charged with submitting a document, which contained a false claim, to Perlis state secretary office administrative assistant Nurul Nabilah Mohd Sukri.

The document was submitted on Feb 19 with the intention to deceive the principal.

Mohd Syafeeq allegedly had reason to believe the document, dated Feb 14 and in the name of Mohd Farid Abdul Hamid, contained false information on the services provided to Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail at the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital.

The false claims were for the supply of drinks for Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin.

The charge, framed under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, is punishable under Section 24(2) of the same law and provides imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The court granted bail of RM20,000 in one surety and set June 28 for mention for document submission. Mohd Syafeeq was ordered to report at the nearest MACC office once a month and surrender his passport to the court.

MACC DPP Rehab Abdul Shukur prosecuted while Mohd Syafeeq was represented by Mohd Fadhly Yaacob.

On April 24, Mohd Syafeeq and five others were arrested for submitting false documents and claims, involving RM600,000 over the past two years.

The probe was related to infrastructure development projects in Perlis, including repair works.