3 immigration officers, restaurant owner charged over ‘counter setting’

They are accused of being involved in facilitating the entry and exit of Indonesian travellers without proper checks on their travel papers.

All four accused claimed trial after they were charged in the Johor Bahru sessions court before judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail. (File pic)

JOHOR BAHRU:

 Three immigration officers and a restaurant owner were charged in the sessions court here today with corruption offences related to “counter setting” in Pasir Gudang and Muar between 2023 and February last year.

Azhar Jamal, 40, Ridzal Yasin, 43, Hairizam Mohamed, 58, and restaurant owner Haslan Hazilah, 57, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out separately to them before judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.

Azhar was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code with 14 counts of agreeing to accept RM28,600 in bribes from a woman through online transfer.

He is alleged to have committed the act as a civil servant responsible for ensuring the validity of foreign nationals’ travel documents as they entered and left Malaysia.

The offence is alleged to have taken place at a bank in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, between July 16, 2024 and Feb 24, 2025.

He faces a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine, or both, for each charge upon conviction.

Ridzal was slapped with two charges of accepting RM1,700 in bribes from an agent at the Pasir Gudang ferry terminal to not conduct a thorough inspection of the travel documents of Indonesian citizens.

The offences were allegedly committed in a toilet near the terminal’s immigration counter in April and August 2023.

Hairizam, who works at the same terminal’s operation control division, is accused of accepting a RM100 bribe from a man to facilitate the entry of Indonesians into Malaysia.

The act was allegedly committed at the Pasir Gudang immigration office at 7pm on Aug 28, 2024.

Meanwhile, Haslan was accused of accepting a RM1,200 bribe from a man at a restaurant in Muar on Nov 11, 2024 as an inducement to act as a middleman and facilitate the entry and exit of Indonesian travellers.

Ridzal, Hairizam and Haslan were all charged under Section 16 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and face up to 20 years in prison and a minimum RM10,000 fine, if convicted.

The prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officers Ameera D’Aneez Shukari, Fazal Lisam Abidin and Faizul Kamaro Zaman.

All four accused were represented by lawyers Abd Rahim Ali, Muzammil Hairiri, Suhaila Shafi’uddin and Nurashidah Razip.

The court granted bail of RM10,000 to Azhar, while Ridzal, Hairizam and Haslan were granted bail at RM8,000 each.

It set Feb 24 and 25 for mention of the cases. - FMT