JOHOR BAHRU: A former Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director was today sentenced to 20 months in prison by the Sessions Court here for accepting a bribe of RM10,000 five years ago.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail ruled Mohd Zulfadli Nayan, 44, guilty after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt at the end of the defence case.
“After hearing and considering all the evidence, the court opines that the accused failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case. The court ruled that the accused is found guilty and convicted of the charge,” he said and ordered Mohd Zulfadli to serve the sentence from today.
Lawyer Mohd Fazaly Ali Mohd Ghazaly, representing Mohd Zulfadli, formerly Tanjung Sedili Maritime Zone MMEA director, requested for stay of the execution of the jail sentence, but it was dismissed.
Earlier, during mitigation, the lawyer requested the court to impose a fine on his client, who has four children aged three to 11 to support.
He said Mohd Zulfadli was suspended from work as senior assistant director of the International Relations and Coordination Branch at the MMEA Headquarters on May 23, 2021, and had since been working as an e-hailing driver and taking an electrical wiring job, earning between RM2,000 and RM3,000 a month.
“He also suffers from gout, serious migraines and gastritis for which he has to take his medication regularly,“ said the lawyer.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zander Lim Wai Keong, from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), appeared for the prosecution.
On May 23, 2021, Mohd Zulfadli claimed trial on a charge of accepting a cash bribe of RM10,000 from a shipping company owner, Wan Mohd Fauzi Wan Kamaruddin, at a restaurant in Jalan Yahya Awal here at 10 pm on Oct 2, 2020.
He was alleged to have used his position at the time to refrain from taking action in an investigation involving the vessel MT ‘Singa Gangsa’, owned by Alamgala Resources Sdn Bhd. The ship was detained by ‘KM Mulia’ of the MMEA’s Tanjung Sedili Maritime Zone on Sept 17, 2020.
He was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of up to two years, a fine or both upon conviction.
On December 18 last year, Judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin ordered him to enter his defence after finding the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
