Judge Sazlina Safie found Sharin Safami Zainudin guilty of accepting a total sum of RM7,700 from three individuals as an inducement not to take action against them for overloading lorries at the conclusion of a trial.

The sums were transferred into a third party’s bank account between June 11 and Aug 14, 2019.

Sharin was charged and convicted under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

The court imposed two-year jail terms for each of Sharin’s nine charges.

It also ordered for the jail terms to run concurrently, after Sazlina accepted that Sharin was remorseful and had suffered from his wrongdoing, having been suspended from duty since being charged in court.

“He lost his income (as a JPJ officer) and this also served as punishment for him,” the judge said.

If he fails to pay the RM90,000 fine, Sharin will be required to serve an additional 18-months in prison.

In finding him guilty, Sazlina said that Sharin’s defence was merely a bare denial and inconsistent with the evidence presented by the prosecution.

“The accused (Sharin) claimed that a person known as Ridzuan Maarof had access to the account (in question). The accused further claimed that Ridzuan died and gave a copy of his death certificate,” the judge said.

However, the court noted that Sharin had not brought Ridzuan’s name to the attention of MACC during its probe into the matter.

“(The use of) Ridzuan is clearly an afterthought.”

Sazlina also said the testimony given by the prosecution witnesses, including the three individuals, was consistent and given without malice.