I was paid by MACC, says key witness

(NST) – IPOH: A key prosecution witness shocked the Sessions Court here by saying that he was paid by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in relation to the corruption trial involving five people, including two former state executive councillors.

“I was paid,” Mohd Imran Abdullah said, in reply to a question by defence counsel Abdul Roni Abdul Rahman during cross-examination whether any payment was given to him by the MACC.

However, when Roni asked the witness to state how much he was paid, he declined to reveal the amount.

“I cannot reveal the amount,” Imran again said when Judge Azhaniz Teh Azman Teh asked him to reveal the sum.

Azhaniz Teh then asked if revealing the amount was against government policy.

At this juncture, MACC’s head of prosecution, Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, replied: “It is against public policy.

“We do not want to reveal it to the public.”

He also said the public gallery should be cleared before the amount was revealed in court.

Razak also wanted to question the relevance of the matter.

Azhaniz Teh then postponed submissions to Monday on whether Imran could be compelled to reveal the amount that he had received.

Two former Pakatan Rakyat exco members who turned independent Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Independent-Behrang), Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Independent-Changkat Jering), for- mer Perak Tengah district councillors Usaili Alias and Zul Hassan, and contractor Fairul Azrim are charged with accepting bribes of between RM400 and RM100,000 between Aug 6 and 19 last year, and sexual favours arranged by Imran as incentives to obtain a development project in Pusat Bandar Seri Iskandar, about 45km southwest of here.

Charges against Ruslan Sahat, a technician with the Perak State Development Corp, were dropped after his death on Aug 3.

Hearing continues today.