KUALA LUMPUR (April 8): Former Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) senior deputy director Sabudin Mohd Salleh was freed by the Sessions Court here today on a charge with accepting bribes, amounting to RM150,000, without calling for his defence.

Judge Suzana Hussin acquitted and discharged Sabudin, 59, of the charge after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against him at the end of the prosecution case.

 "After hearing the testimony by all the prosecution witnesses and examining the submissions from both parties, the court found that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused.

“Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged,” she said.

 A total of 10 prosecution witnesses testified at the trial.

Sabudin,  who was senior deputy director at DBKL’s Civil Engineering and Urban Transportation Department, was charged with corruptly receiving RM150,000 from Chia Chee Seng, who is a director of  Tegap Elit Sdn Bhd, as an inducement for him to verify the claims for advance payment submitted by several companies.

He was charged with committing the offence at a house in Ukay Perdana here between Aug 13 and 19, 2018.

The charge was framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides an imprisonment for up to two years, or with fine, or both, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, prosecuted while lawyer K.Theivaendran represented Sabudin.

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