Ayer Keroh sessions court judge Elesabet Paya Wan meted out the sentence on Fariz Ali, 42, after ruling that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of its case.

Elesabet imposed a total fine of RM1.3 million for all the charges and sentenced Fariz to two years’ imprisonment for the first and second charges, and one year each for the other two charges, to run concurrently starting today.

The court granted Fariz’s application for a stay of execution pending an appeal, with bail increased from RM50,000 to RM60,000.

Based on the four amended charges, Fariz, a manager in the corporation’s product business development division at the time, was accused of receiving RM260,000 in cash bribes from LEC Impressions Sdn Bhd.

The cash was provided as an inducement to help the company secure a project to supply 10 boats to the corporation.

The offences were committed at Taman Peringgit Jaya and at a house in Taman Puncak Bertam between Jan 4 and March 6, 2017.

Fariz was charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act by up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of RM10,000, or five times the value of the gratification, whichever is higher.

His lawyer, Hamidi Noh, pleaded for a lenient sentence, saying Fariz no longer holds the position, has dependents and is facing health issues.

However, MACC deputy public prosecutor Asraf Tahir requested an appropriate sentence, citing the substantial bribe amount and the fact that the accused was a civil servant.