RMAF sergeant, director charged with jet engines theft

Tharmendran being led into court this morning where he was charged.

By Neville Spykerman - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Sgt N. Tharmendran and company director Rajandran Prasad were today charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court today in connection with the missing two F-5E jet engines amid cynicism that the government has covered up the scandalous theft.

Rajandran, 37, was charged with disposing of the engines while Tharmendran, 42, was charged with stealing the engines. Bail for the two was set at RM150,000. The case has been fixed for mention on Feb 11.

Police had earlier said four men, three of them rank-and-file RMAF airmen, were the only ones involved in the 2007 theft of two General Electric J85-21A turbojet engines, said to be worth RM100 million, much to the chagrin of many that the scale of the crime suggests higher-ups were involved.

The RMAF had earlier denied that a brigadier-general and 40 others sacked for incompetence were involved in the crime.

According to the charge sheet, Tharmendran, who is still serving in the air force, had conspired with senior airman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop at the RMAF base Subang Jaya to steal the engines from the Material Procession Shed at RMAF Base in Sungai Besi on Dec 2007.

If found guilt he faces imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine. Mohamad Shukri was not charged.

Rajandran was charged with intentionally disposing of the engines which he knew were stolen on April 30, 2008 at the Subang Industrial Park. He faces a maximum of seven years imprisonment and fine.

The case was heard before Sessions Judge Aslam Zainuddin. Tharmendran was represented by lawyer V. Ravichandran while Pritam Singh Doal acted for Rajandran.

Deputy Prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Raja Toran had asked the court to set bail at RM200,000 for both men because of the seriousness of the offence.

However Aslam set bail at RM150,000 after defence lawyers objected.

Pritam said his client would be able to post bail today but Ravichandran said he doubts Tharmendran would be able to raise the money.

Sin Chew Tam Siong Yein is accosted by a relative of one of the accused outside the courtroom this morning. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Female family members of one of the two men were seen openly crying in court today while before the start of the case a female Sin Chew photographer was manhandled by male relatives of the two men as she tried to get their pictures.

The reporter was seen grimacing in pain but was otherwise unhurt.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said last night the RMAF airman would be charged for stealing while the company director for disposing of stolen properties.

"Investigations revealed that both F-5E jet engines were removed from the Material Udara 1 (Matra 1) godown in Kuala Lumpur as a result of a collaboration between an RMAF personnel with the rank of sergeant and a company director to dispose off both jet engines," he said in a statement issued via Bernama.

He said based on information from witnesses and documents obtained, he ordered the duo to be charged.

The sergeant will be charged under section 380 of the Penal Code to be read with section 109 of the same code, while the company director, under section 414 of the code.

The jets engines were found missing in 2007 while being taken for a routine maintenance from the 12th Squadron (Scorpion) in Butterworth to the RMAF godown in Kuala Lumpur.

The jet engines were discovered stolen by RMAF on May 22, 2008 and a police report was lodged on Aug 4 the same year.

But like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal where four executives were charged for criminal breach of trust (CBT), prosecuting the airmen and company director will not abate calls for further investigations into how the jet engines ended up in South America.

Gani had said the engines powering the ageing F-5Es are now in Uruguay after police said it went through a Middle East nation to Argentina.

They have said that Malaysia will seek international cooperation to recover the engines.

But opposition leaders are asking for a royal commission of inquiry into the theft that happened when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the defence minister.

Now prime minister, Najib has promised that there will be no cover-up but many are left pondering his words with just a serviceman and an aviation services firm director in the dock.