Ex-ministry comms head acquitted of bribery after paying MACC compound

 

The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today acquitted and discharged the former head of the Corporate Communications Unit at a ministry of a charge of receiving a bribe of RM5,268 three years ago.

Judge Suzana Hussin made the decision after MACC prosecuting officer A Selvam informed the court that the accused, Nur Fazreen Kamal, 45, had paid a compound following a representation submitted to the prosecution.

"On May 7, the MACC offered a compound under Section 92 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001, and the accused paid the compound on May 12.

"Therefore, the prosecution requests that the main charge under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act and the alternative charge under Section 165 of the Penal Code against the accused be withdrawn," he said, without disclosing the amount of the compound.

Lawyer T Sivaranjeni, representing Nur Fazreen, confirmed that her client had settled the compound payment and requested that the mother of four be discharged and acquitted of the charges.

After hearing the applications from both parties, Suzana then discharged and acquitted Nur Fazreen of the charges.

"Given that the accused has paid the compound as offered by the MACC, the court grants the defence’s application for the accused to be discharged and acquitted of these charges," she said.

According to the charge, Nur Fazreen was accused of receiving a RM5,268 bribe from a woman as partial payment for a gold bracelet weighing 39.3g.

The payment was made online from a bank account belonging to the company Tulip Event Exhibition Enterprise (Tulip Event) to the account of a jewellery shop, KB Gold 2 Enterprise.

The bribe was an inducement for the accused to verify a Government Order Application Form regarding exhibition equipment rental services for Trenchless Asia 2023, valued at RM49,950, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre for the company.

The act was allegedly committed at a bank in Jalan Bukit Bintang on May 11, 2023.

The charge was framed under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

- Bernama