The remand order against the man in his 30s was issued by magistrate Azlan Basri following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the George Town magistrates’ court today.

According to a source, the suspect, who serves as the project superintendent at the institute, allegedly requested the bribe from a manager of the company awarded the civil repair service contract for the institute’s building.

“The suspect reportedly asked the company manager to provide him with RM30,000 in cash during a phone conversation, in return for securing a one-off civil repair service contract worth nearly half a million ringgit,” he said.

The man was subsequently detained in an operation conducted by Penang MACC around Penaga at about 8pm yesterday.

It is learnt that MACC has also seized a Ford Mustang GT Auto valued at RM200,000, a BMW R1200 GS Adventure motorcycle (costing RM72,000), a Kawasaki 1400 GTR motorcycle (RM40,000) and jewellery worth about RM7,000.

When contacted, Penang MACC director Fuad Bee Basrah confirmed the arrest and said the case is being investigated under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009.