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SHAH ALAM: A senior secretary to a former minister pleaded not guilty to six counts in Court of Sessions here today for accepting and requesting RM106,500 in bribes from a business owner to secure an advertising tender under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture .
Mohd Saifullah Mohd Minggu @ Mohd Hisham, 29, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Judge Rozilah Salleh.
The crimes were allegedly committed at Temasya Anggun Glenmarie, Shah Alam, AmBank (M) Berhad in Bandar Puteri Puchong, Burger King in Kota Damansara and Petronas Dengkil, between December 21, 2018 and March 30, 2019.
The prosecution was conducted by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir, while the accused was represented by lawyer Md Yunos Sharif.
Three of the six charges involved Saifullah for accepting RM90,000 worth of cash from Inter Bev Network Sdn Bhd owner Ronald Seto Kong Seng.
This was to help Inter Bev Network secure the tender for brand and creative services for Tourism Malaysia’s advertising campaign, as well as the contract to purchase advertising space in North and East Asia.
It is also alleged that the defendant promised Plan B Digital Sdn Bhd that he would secure the global advertising agency and the promotional tender from Tourism Malaysia.
For the remaining three charges, Saifullah was charged with receiving RM16,500 worth of bribes from Seto through Roslan Lahada, deposit payment and rental of unit B-36-1 at Vipod Residences, No 6 Jalan Kia Peng in Kuala Lumpur.
He allegedly received payment via a Maybank check and is charged with committing all crimes under Section 16 (a) (B) of the MACC Act of 2009.
The offenses, punishable under article 24 of the same law, carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the crime committed or RM10,000, whichever is greater.
The court granted the defendant a bond of RM200,000, which was posted in the Court of Sessions for the 18 charges brought against Saifullah last month.
The judge also allowed the six charges to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Session Court for trial, along with the previous 18 charges.
Saifullah was the chief secretary to former tourism minister Mohamaddin Ketapi under the Pakatan Harapan administration.
On August 19, Saifullah pleaded not guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Court of Sessions on 18 counts of accepting and soliciting RM3.1 million in bribes from Seto.
His fiancée, 28-year-old Nurfadziana Abdul Kadir, also pleaded not guilty to one charge of complicity with Saifullah in the crime by accepting a bribe of RM232,000.
