Conviction, jail term of senior MMEA man over RM28,000 ‘friendly loan’ upheld

The Kuantan High Court has upheld the conviction and six-month jail sentence of Sulhan Zainon, a senior Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officer, for receiving RM28,000 from a shipping company director. Sulhan was initially charged with 13 counts of corruption under Section 25(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act for receiving the money in exchange for not inspecting vessels belonging to the director and another company.

He was acquitted of these charges in 2023 but was ordered to enter a defence on the 13 alternative charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for a public servant to obtain valuables without consideration. The court ruled that there was no written agreement on the repayment of the loan and that the transaction pattern was unusual.

The court also emphasized that public servants should avoid financial relationships that could create dependency or conflicts of interest with individuals who have official dealings with them. The six-month consecutive sentence for each of the 13 charges was deemed not excessive by the court.

Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.