Govt officer caught soliciting bribes by MACC with aid of contractor

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 11): After paying several bribes that were demanded, after a period of four years, one contractor had had enough and reported the matter to the MACC and proceeded to help them nab the officer.

The Star reports that the contractor had paid RM248,000 over the past four years, and it began after he applied for and won a tender to build telecommunication towers in Terengganu and Kelantan.

The project was worth RM31mil.

Citing sources in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the daily reports that the officer is a deputy director with the Malaysian Com­munications and Multimedia Com­mission (MCMC), and had approached the contractor, claiming that he had helped him win the tender and demanded money.

“Since then, the officer would constantly contact the contractor for money. This has been going on since 2014.

“The contractor claimed to have already paid him RM248,000,” a source familiar with the case was quoted as saying.

Recently, the officer demanded RM270,000, which caused the contractor to report him to the MACC.

Together they set a trap, and the deputy director was arrested in a shopping mall at around 8pm. This was following the sum of RM50,000 being allegedly handed over to him.

To aid their probe into the bribery allegations, the officer and another man have been remanded for four days.

Magistrate Low When Zhen allowed an application by MACC to remand the two suspects.