Ex-Youth Ministry senior officer jailed 15 years, fined RM283m

 

A former secretary of the finance division of the Youth and Sports Ministry was jailed for 15 years and fined over RM283 million over a corruption and money laundering case involving over RM38 million.

The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today convicted accused Otman Arshad over 96 charges for offences allegedly taking place between 2012 and 2015.

Otman was charged with 32 counts of abuse of power and with submitting false claims involving RM38.4 million.

These involved 17 charges under Section 18(a) of the MACC Act 2009 for alleged submitting of false claims, while the remaining 15 charges are for abuse of power under Section 23 (1) of the same Act.

The 64-year-old was also charged with 64 money laundering counts of allegedly receiving RM16,623,000 in proceeds from unlawful activities through cheques deposited into his Maybank, RHB and CIMB Berhad accounts.

Otman was accused of committing power abuse and false claims offences at the National Sports Council Office (NSC), Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex in Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 28, 2012, and Nov 18, 2015.

Prosecution established prima facie case

He was alleged to have perpetrated the money laundering offences between March 7, 2012, and Dec 11, 2015.

However, trial judge Kamarudin Kamsun allowed a stay of execution of the sentencing pending an appeal to the High Court.

During open-court proceedings today, the judge ruled that the accused failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of the prosecution’s case, adding that prosecutors succeeded in establishing a case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Kamarudin said that heavy sentencing is necessary in order to tackle the grave issue of graft.

Earlier today, Otman’s counsel Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali had sought a lenient sentence as the court case had hung over the accused’s head for seven years since he (Otman) was charged in 2016, and he is now jobless and now lives with his family.

The lawyer pointed out that Otman had dutifully attended court proceedings, pointing out that he had never applied for a temporary return of his passport so that he could travel overseas.

However, deputy public prosecutor Farah Yasmin Salleh sought a deterrent sentence against Otman, arguing that the accused’s actions had caused massive loss to the Youth and Sports Ministry as well as the government.

Deterrent sentence

The DPP contended that a heavy sentence would serve as a deterrent to all members of society, especially public servants from committing such offences.

“The monies were meant for the development of athletes and sports from the grassroots to the national level.

“Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi,” Farah said in reference to the Bahasa Malaysia proverb which carries the lesson of not to trusting the wrong person with responsibility.

In response, Rafique countered that the alleged monies involved in the case are not the people’s money but rather corporate sponsorship funds.

Meanwhile, the lower court had also allowed the gazetting of the prosecution’s application to forfeit assets belonging to Otman following the criminal conviction.

Kamarudin had fixed Sept 26 for mention of the forfeiture proceedings against the accused.

Otman was first charged in court between March and April 2016. A total of 70 witnesses testified for the prosecution during the trial. - Mkini