Alimah Omar, 66, a director at Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd, said the payment should have been made to the Perlis state secretary’s office.
However, she said she did not question the matter despite it involving a huge amount because the former director of the travel company, Shafiei Ismail, had always handled Azlan’s holiday travels.
“I have never dealt with Azlan and I only know him officially as the menteri besar of Perlis. Shafiei manages all of Azlan’s claims.
“I understand the payment should have been made to the Perlis state secretary’s office, but I was informed that Azlan made the claim for the refund, so the check was issued in his name,” she said.
Alimah, who is the sixth prosecution witness, said this when cross-examined by Azlan’s lawyer Ramli Shariff, on the fifth day of the trial of the former Bintong assemblyman.
Azlan is facing 10 charges of submitting false claims and receiving money from illegal activities.
Yesterday, Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours’ accounts assistant Fazilah Jelani, 47, told the court Azlan had booked family trips to London worth a total value RM687,785.40 through the Perlis government in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
However, Fazilah said Azlan cancelled all the bookings, with the refunds totalling RM629,395.30 paid to Azlan minus the cancellation fee.
Earlier, Alimah said she and the company’s general manager Zulkamar Abu Bakar signed three cheques totalling RM629,395.30 in Azlan’s name as payment for the cancellation of holiday packages in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
She said Shafiei had determined the amount on the cheques, adding that the company was established in 1988 and Shafiei was a partner in the company.
Azlan, 65, faces five charges of making false claims for overseas holiday trips worth over RM1.18 million allegedly committed at the Perlis state secretary’s office in Kangar between December 2013 and December 2017 involving quotations of flight tickets to London and invoices from tour agencies Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
He also pleaded not guilty to five counts of receiving money from illicit activities totalling RM1.06 million between Feb 19, 2014, and December 2017 at the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman Maybank branch, Putrajaya CIMB Bank branch and Sheraton Imperial Hotel here in the same period.
The trial before judge Azura Alwi continues tomorrow.