B Nantha Kumar was charged under Section 16 of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for allegedly receiving the sum from a Pakistani national as an inducement not to upload or publish articles about a syndicate involving foreign workers.

The offence allegedly took place at a hotel here.

If found guilty, Nantha could face jail of up to 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the alleged gratification.

Judge Nasir Nordin granted Nantha bail of RM10,000 with one surety.

Nasir also ordered Nantha to surrender his passport to the court pending the disposal of his case and to report to the MACC office once a month.

The court fixed April 23 for case management.

Lawyer P Purshotaman represented Nantha while deputy public prosecutor Alis Izzati Azurin Mohd Rusdi appeared for the prosecution.