Counter setting: 3 immigration officers, restaurant owner charged in court

 

Three Immigration Department officers and a restaurant owner were charged in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court today on corruption charges related to “counter setting” in Pasir Gudang and Muar around 2023 to 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 before judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail.

Azhar, who was working as an immigration officer, was charged with 14 counts of agreeing to accept bribes between RM400 and RM4,500 with a total amount of RM28,600 without consideration from a woman via online transfer.

He allegedly committed the act as a civil servant responsible for checking and ensuring that foreign nationals’ travel documents for the purpose of entering and leaving Malaysia were valid.

The offence was committed at a bank in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, between July 16, 2024, and Feb 24, 2025, under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of two years, or a fine, or both.

Meanwhile, Ridzal faces two charges of accepting RM1,700 from an agent as a bribe to him as an immigration officer at the Pasir Gudang Terminal Sea Entry/Exit Gate (Jetty) for not conducting a thorough inspection of the travel documents of Indonesian citizens.

Both offences were committed in a toilet near the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal Immigration counter in April and August 2023.

Charged for allegedly accepting bribes

Meanwhile, Hairizam, who works at the Pasir Gudang Ferry Terminal Operation Control Division (Sea), was accused of accepting a bribe totalling RM100 from a man to facilitate the entry of Indonesian travellers into Malaysia.

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

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

Ridzal and Hairizam were charged with committing an offence under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009 and are punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act while Haslan was charged under Section 16(a)(A) which provides for a maximum imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

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

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

The court granted bail to Azhar of RM10,000 while Ridzal, Hairizam, and Haslan were granted bail of RM8,000 with one local surety each and additional conditions to surrender their passports to the court and report to the nearby MACC headquarters once a month.

The court set Feb 24 and 25 for mention of the case.

- Bernama