Judge Rozilah Salleh said: “People who offer or accept bribes will burn in hell, so always remember this and I am reminding myself, you (accused) and all in this court.”
She said this before sentencing immigration officer Zalizi Ismail, 26, to 30 days’ jail and a fine of RM20,000 or four months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe of RM12,000 from a man last week.
The judge also reprimanded the accused for failing to uphold the trust and responsibility given to him by the Immigration Department to safeguard the country’s entry/exit points by releasing foreign nationals detained at KLIA.
“I want you to believe in your guilty plea. If you are punished in this world, I pray it is sufficient as kifarah (retribution) for you in the hereafter.
“There are people who have been arrested many times, (but) still not admitting guilt although there is proof and if not arrested, they feel they are not wrong,” she said.
Zalizi had pleaded guilty to receiving RM12,000 from Chu Wing Kong in connection with his official duties as an assistant investigating officer at the Immigration Department’s KLIA Operations Division, where he was to speed up the repatriation process for two detainees, Zhou Guifang and Zhu Xiangliang, to China.
He committed the offence on Dec 2 at a petrol station near the airport at about 7.37pm. The charge under Section 165 of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of up to two years or a fine or both.
The Chinese nationals were detained during immigration inspection at KLIA’s departure hall on Nov 29 on suspicion of having overstayed in Malaysia, and they were remanded for 14 days until Dec 12.
Zalizi then contacted Chu and asked for RM12,000 to speed up their repatriation.
Earlier, Zalizi, who was not represented, asked the court not to impose a custodial sentence as he had realised his mistake and repented, as well as promised not to repeat it.
“I plead not to be sent to jail as I have a one-year-old child and need to support my wife who is not working, as well as my father and two siblings who are still studying.
“This is my first offence and I appeal that the court fine me a month’s salary as I am new at work with a starting monthly salary of RM1,460,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Fadhli Ab Wahab, however, urged the court to consider public interest in passing sentence and the seriousness of the offence committed by the accused.
He said the accused has been working at the Immigration Department for less than two years but had already committed corruption involving a large sum of money.
“I ask that a prison sentence be imposed on the accused to send a message to him not to repeat the offence in future and to remind other civil servants not to commit the same mistake,” he added.