Six including govt dept director held in contract graft probe
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested six individuals, including a civil servant with the title Datuk, on suspicion of accepting bribes amounting to hundreds of thousands of ringgit linked to development and maintenance contract awards from 2021 to date.
According to a source, the other suspects arrested included another individual with the title Datuk, who is also a company director, an engineer from a government department in the federal capital, a married couple, and a contractor.
The suspects, comprising four men and two women aged between 20 and 50, were arrested at around 5.30 pm yesterday when they appeared to give statements at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
'The two prime suspects, a director and an engineer at a government department, are believed to have solicited and accepted bribes from contractors awarded development and maintenance contracts under their supervision since 2021.
'Also arrested were a married couple, a company director with the title Datuk and a contractor, suspected of acting as middlemen in soliciting bribes from contractors,' the source said.
The source said that initial investigations revealed that the two main suspects received some RM115,000 from the middleman in the form of cash, payments for home renovations and mobile phones.
'Magistrate Irza Zulaikha Rohanuddin granted a five-day remand until Saturday for five suspects,while another was remanded for three days until Thursday, following an application by MACC at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court this morning,' he said.
The source said that during Op Kepala, conducted yesterday by the MACC Special Operations Division at 10 premises in Klang Valley and Johor, two Toyota Hilux vehicles and about RM165,000 in cash were seized, while 95 bank accounts, said to hold around RM6 million, were frozen.
Meanwhile, MACC Special Operations Division senior director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, when contacted, confirmed the arrest of all suspects to assist in investigations under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
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