3 Penang prosecutors arrested in RM100,000 bribery probe

(FMT) – Three deputy public prosecutors in Penang were arrested by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission today after receiving a complaint that they had demanded half a million ringgit in bribes to fix a commercial crime case.

The three men are to be taken to the magistrates court in Alor Setar for a remand order on Tuesday morning.

A source close to the case said the MACC had moved in to lay a trap on one of the prosecutors, by pretending to be an interested party willing to offer RM100,000 for his services.

The prosecutor, who is believed to hold the rank of senior federal counsel, is alleged to have accepted the money, in marked currency notes, from the undercover MACC officers, which led to his immediate arrest.

Two other prosecutors were arrested at the Kedah MACC office in Alor Setar, after they were called in to have their statements taken.

The two men are part of the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Penang. One of them holds “a very senior role”, the source said.

MACC officers later seized items from the prosecutors’ offices and found an undisclosed amount of cash at their homes and other items that could be used against them in the case.

The source said the three could have been running a syndicate to fix cases for “a very long time”.

The MACC received a complaint on May 16 alleging that a prosecutor had asked for RM500,000 “to ensure a successful prosecution” of a particular person.

Kedah MACC chief Shaharom Nizam Abd Manap did not want to comment on the case but confirmed that the three persons had been arrested.