Myanmar Worker Charged With Bribing Police Officer

KUANTAN (Pahang, Malaysia), Aug 25 (Bernama) -- A Myanmar construction worker was charged in the Sessions Court here Tuesday with bribing a police officer last week. No plea was recorded from Shuna Zainal Ali Hussein, 25, who has a local address and holds a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees card, because he does not understand Malay or English. He allegedly offered a RM3,000 bribe to Sergeant Mohd Shahrul Ashraf Shakri in Room No 3, second floor of the Kuantan district police headquarters at noon on Aug 19, as an inducement to release his wife who had been detained for offences under Section 379 of the Penal Code and Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. Shuna Zainal, who was not represented by a lawyer, was charged under Section 17 (b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24 of the same act, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, whichever is higher, on conviction. MACC deputy public prosecutor Siti Sarah Zainal Abiddin did not offer any bail because the accused is a foreigner. Judge Mohd Ghazali Mohamad Taib fixed Thursday for mention of the case in the presence of a Bangladeshi language interpreter. -- BERNAMA