The New Straits Times reported that Syafeeq Shukri pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before judge Norsalha Hamzah.
Syafeeq was accused of submitting a government order document under the name Farid Abdul Hamid, worth RM19,505.10, for the supply of drinks to Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin at Tuanku Fauziah Hospital, despite knowing that it contained false details.
He allegedly submitted the claim to Nurul Nabilah Sukri, an administrative assistant at the district administrative unit of the state secretary’s office, with the intention of misleading her superior on Feb 19.
The charge was framed under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the false claim or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
MACC deputy public prosecutor Rehab Abdul Shukur, who appeared for the prosecution, proposed bail of RM30,000 and for the accused to surrender his passport to the court and report to the Kangar MACC office every month throughout the trial process.
Syafeeq’s lawyer Fadhly Yaacob pleaded for a lower amount, saying his client has a wife and a child to support with his combined income of RM1,500 each month as a padi farmer and from selling LPG gas.
He also told the court that his client had been cooperating with MACC and had no risk of jumping bail.
The court fixed bail at RM20,000 with one surety and set June 28 for case mention.
On May 15, MACC said it had completed its probe on the Perlis menteri besar’s son and four others linked to the alleged falsification of documents related to claims for infrastructure projects worth RM600,000.
Shukri’s son and four others were arrested on April 24 and released on MACC bail two days later, while Shukri was detained by the anti-graft agency on April 30 before being released on MACC bail the same day.
Shukri had given a statement in connection with an alleged case of abuse of power, spending nearly eight hours at MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya.