Customs assistant director pleads not guilty to accepting RM15,000 bribe

A Malaysian Customs Department assistant director, Fareez Akmal Md. Yusuf, 38, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to a charge of accepting a RM15,000 bribe. The alleged bribe was offered in exchange for closing an investigation into a trade offense.

The civil servant is accused of receiving the cash from an individual under investigation by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM). The prosecution stated the bribe was intended to halt an investigation by the JKDM's Kuala Lumpur Enforcement Division's Trade Fraud Branch. The alleged offense occurred in a parking lot in Petaling Jaya on June 29.

Fareez Akmal faces charges under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (SPRM) Act 2009, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. The deputy public prosecutor proposed bail at RM10,000 with one surety, requiring the accused to report to the SPRM office, surrender his passport, and refrain from contacting witnesses.

Representing Fareez Akmal, lawyer Azrul Zulkifli Stork requested bail be set at RM5,000, citing his client's monthly income of RM4,500 and his responsibilities, including supporting his mother-in-law and elderly parents. Judge Datuk Mohd. Nasir Nordin granted bail at RM5,000 with the additional conditions and scheduled the next court date for August 3.

“

The accused is 38 years old, has a monthly income of RM4,500. He also supports his mother-in-law who is ill and requires treatment, as well as his frail parents.