Ex-native affairs officer among 4 held over RM900,000 bribe in Sabah land sale

In Sabah, four individuals, comprising a former native affairs officer and a civil servant, have been apprehended by authorities over a land sale scandal involving nearly RM900,000 in bribes. The suspects appeared at the Keningau Headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to provide statements on August 23. Magistrate Flavian Edward Henry granted a seven-day remand for the suspects to aid the ongoing investigation, which will persist until August 27, as mandated by the Sabah MACC.

The remand order was issued following a request from the MACC. A source revealed that the ex-official and civil servant allegedly received bribes from two land brokers to expedite the land sale in question. However, preliminary investigations uncovered that the land in question was owned by someone else and never put up for sale.

All four male suspects, aged between their 30s and 60s, were arrested between 4 pm and 8 pm at the Keningau MACC office. Fuad Bee Basrah, the Sabah MACC director, verified the arrests and disclosed that the case is being probed under Sections 17 and 18 of the MACC Act 2009.