Norhayati Mohd Daud, a former vice-president of the corporate recovery and project rehabilitation division at Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB), pleaded guilty before judge Rozina Ayob to a charge under Section 25(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act of failing to report a wrongdoing to the authorities.

Failure to pay the RM22,000 fine will see her serve a six-month prison term.

She received the RM3,000 from one Mohd Noor Siden on Feb 3, 2016.

The money was given as a “reward” to Norhayati, after she helped Mohd Noor by persuading the MBSB board of directors to convert his RM60 million financial guarantee application to a RM10 million bridging loan.

During mitigation, Norhayati, who was not represented by lawyers, told the court that she regretted her action and claimed that she was “cheated” by Mohd Noor.

She also appealed to the court to impose a fine of less than RM10,000.

However, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin urged the court to impose a fine of between RM20,000 and RM25,000.

“The court should strike a balance between public interest and the accused’s interest.

“We hope that the court can send a message through this case so that the public would know that they have a duty to report any form of corruption to the MACC,” he said.