JOHOR BAHRU: A project manager of a subsidiary of a highway concessionaire pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to three counts of accepting RM50,000 in bribes in exchange for assisting a company to secure a highway construction project two years ago.
Zairulnizam Rohani, 47, is accused of accepting RM10,000, RM30,000 and RM10,000 in bribes from an individual via online transfers to his wife’s Maybank account.
He was charged with accepting the money as an inducement to help a construction contractor company secure a project for the construction and completion of a highway (Step-In-Work for Package CA-3-Construction and Completion of Mainline and Other Associated Work).
The offences were allegedly committed at a bank branch in Taman Universiti, Skudai, here, on Dec 7, 12 and 13, 2023.
The charges, framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, carry a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Asmah Zainal Ariffin proposed bail of RM30,000 for all three charges, with additional conditions requiring the accused to surrender his passport to the court and report to the MACC headquarters once a month.
However, lawyer Mohd Salleh Tugimin, representing the accused, requested a lower bail, explaining that his client had been suspended from work since July 2024, had no other source of income, and his personal bank account had been frozen.
Mohd Salleh also said that the accused had been suffering from a blood clot in his brain since 2023 and had an unemployed wife, four children and an ailing mother to support.
Judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman allowed the accused bail of RM25,000 with a local surety for all charges and ordered him to surrender his passport to the court, as well as report to the MACC office once a month.
The case is set for mention and submission of documents on Feb 24.
Previously, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki was reported to have said that the chief operating officer and project manager of a company would be charged in court in connection with a corruption case involving two highway projects in the Klang Valley worth over RM4.8 billion.
He said the Chief Operating Officer of the concession company was expected to face two charges under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, while another individual, a project manager of a private company, would face three charges under the same act on Jan 23.
The investigation was conducted after elements of corruption were detected in the two projects involved, which were valued at over RM1 billion and RM4.8 billion.
