Khairul Azhar Azmi, 36, of the Pendang police headquarters, made the plea before judge N Priscilla Hemamalini.

On the first charge, he is alleged to have received RM5,000 as an inducement not to arrest two individuals suspected of committing fraud under Section 420 of the Penal Code at the office of the commercial crime investigation department at the Hi-Tech police station in Kulim at about 11.30am on June 15, 2021.

He is also accused of soliciting a bribe of RM15,000 to close an investigation paper related to a suspect suspected of committing the same offence on the same date and at the same time and place.

On the third charge, Khairul is alleged to have accepted a bribe of RM1,000 in the men’s toilet of the same police station on June 22, 2021.

He is also charged with receiving RM10,000 in front of a shop in Kuala Muda on June 24, 2021. The bribes were allegedly an inducement for him to help close a case.

The charges were framed under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides for imprisonment not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, or whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Khairul was allowed bail of RM12,000 in one surety for all the charges. The court set March 16 for mention.

The prosecution was handled by MACC deputy public prosecutor Nurnajihatul Idayu Azuyar, while Khairul was represented by lawyer R Arvend.