The New Straits Times
by Sulaiman Jaafar
Firdaus was charged with accepting a bribe of RM3,000 from Md Shani Ishak through Chief Inspector Kamarul Ahmad at the Esso petrol station at 10.30pm on Oct 11 last year as an inducement to reduce his drug sentence to a two-year good behaviour bond of RM1,000.
In the second charge, Firdaus was alleged to have asked for a bribe of RM5,000 from Shani for a similar purpose at the magistrate's office at the Kuala Krai court at 9am on Oct 6.
Both offences were punishable under Section 24 of the act, which provides for a jail term of not more than 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the bribe.
Sabariah said the court found that the defence had failed to produce evidence to show that Firdaus had been framed as he had claimed.
"The accused has also failed to deny that his voice was in the recording (made by the MACC). The defence's application to the court to reject the recording and its transcript is also denied," she said.
Firdaus was represented by lawyer Datuk Shukri Mohamed. MACC deputy public prosecutor Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, assisted by Mohd Josiendra Abu Senin and Mohd Ahsan Latif, prosecuted.
In mitigation, Shukri said his client was only 28 years old and married with an 11-month-old child, and it was his first offence.
He also said the accused was the sole earner in an extended family that included his mother who had to make kuih to supplement the household income. The lawyer added that the accused had suffered punishment as the case had been given wide media coverage even before the court found him guilty.
Razak, asking for a heavy sentence, said the accused's duty was to uphold the law but he had abused his position for his personal interests.
"This is a serious case and it is not right for the court to sympathise with him just because he is a legal officer.
"I call on the court to mete out a balanced sentence without fear of favour."
After the sentence was handed down, Shukri applied to the court to set aside the jail sentence and the fine until the appeal was heard.
Sabariah agreed to set aside the jail sentence but ordered the fine to be paid within three months. She also raised the bail from RM4,000 to RM8,000 pending appeal.
by Sulaiman Jaafar
KOTA BARU: A magistrate was sentenced to three years' jail and fined a total of RM40,000 after he was found guilty by the Sessions Court yesterday on two counts of accepting bribes.
Judge Sabariah Othman meted out the sentences on magistrate for Kuala Krai and Machang Mohd Firdaus Ramlan, 28, after the prosecution proved the two cases under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act beyond a reasonable doubt.
On the first count, the judge sentenced Firdaus to three years' imprisonment and fined him RM15,000. For his second offence, the magistrate was sentenced to three years' jail and fined RM25,000.
Sabariah ordered the prison sentences to run concurrently and the fines were in default of 12 months' and 18 months' jail sentences, respectively.
Judge Sabariah Othman meted out the sentences on magistrate for Kuala Krai and Machang Mohd Firdaus Ramlan, 28, after the prosecution proved the two cases under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act beyond a reasonable doubt.
On the first count, the judge sentenced Firdaus to three years' imprisonment and fined him RM15,000. For his second offence, the magistrate was sentenced to three years' jail and fined RM25,000.
Sabariah ordered the prison sentences to run concurrently and the fines were in default of 12 months' and 18 months' jail sentences, respectively.
Firdaus was charged with accepting a bribe of RM3,000 from Md Shani Ishak through Chief Inspector Kamarul Ahmad at the Esso petrol station at 10.30pm on Oct 11 last year as an inducement to reduce his drug sentence to a two-year good behaviour bond of RM1,000.
In the second charge, Firdaus was alleged to have asked for a bribe of RM5,000 from Shani for a similar purpose at the magistrate's office at the Kuala Krai court at 9am on Oct 6.
Both offences were punishable under Section 24 of the act, which provides for a jail term of not more than 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the bribe.
Sabariah said the court found that the defence had failed to produce evidence to show that Firdaus had been framed as he had claimed.
"The accused has also failed to deny that his voice was in the recording (made by the MACC). The defence's application to the court to reject the recording and its transcript is also denied," she said.
Firdaus was represented by lawyer Datuk Shukri Mohamed. MACC deputy public prosecutor Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, assisted by Mohd Josiendra Abu Senin and Mohd Ahsan Latif, prosecuted.
In mitigation, Shukri said his client was only 28 years old and married with an 11-month-old child, and it was his first offence.
He also said the accused was the sole earner in an extended family that included his mother who had to make kuih to supplement the household income. The lawyer added that the accused had suffered punishment as the case had been given wide media coverage even before the court found him guilty.
Razak, asking for a heavy sentence, said the accused's duty was to uphold the law but he had abused his position for his personal interests.
"This is a serious case and it is not right for the court to sympathise with him just because he is a legal officer.
"I call on the court to mete out a balanced sentence without fear of favour."
After the sentence was handed down, Shukri applied to the court to set aside the jail sentence and the fine until the appeal was heard.
Sabariah agreed to set aside the jail sentence but ordered the fine to be paid within three months. She also raised the bail from RM4,000 to RM8,000 pending appeal.
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