2 govt dept heads held over false claims in Melaka

 

Melaka MACC director Shahril Che Saad says civil servants from both departments may be called up to give statements.

MELAKA: Two heads of federal departments and a company director in Melaka have been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on suspicion of submitting false claims related to a programme allegedly held by the department and a transfer exercise last year.

According to a source, one of the suspects was believed to have used the company’s invoices to make false claims for the programme amounting to RM24,900.

“The suspect is believed to have conspired with the company’s director to use invoices containing false details for supplies when they were never sent for the programme.

“Another suspect, a woman, was alleged to have made a false claim for RM6,000 related to a transfer to her department,” he said.

All the suspects were arrested at the MACC office in Melaka at 2.30pm today after their statements were recorded.

Melaka MACC director Shahril Che Saad confirmed the arrests and did not rule out the possibility of calling civil servants from both departments to give statements.

He also expressed concern because department heads were in a position of trust and responsible for preventing corrupt practices or abuse of power.

Shahril said the cases were being investigated under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, and the suspects would be brought to court tomorrow to be remanded. - FMT