SHAH ALAM, Dec 22 — An Immigration officer, who is in a private hospital for high blood and heart problems, was charged with accepting RM3,000 as an inducement to not pursue an investigation he was conducting.
A special room was turned into a courtroom, where Zulkifly Zapar, 46, who was on a wheelchair, was charged with the offence.
However, the Senior Deputy Assistant Director of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Division, pleaded not guilty to the charge which was read out before Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi.
Zulkifly was charged , in his capacity as an agent of the Malaysian Immigration Department, to have corruptly accepted RM3,000 as gratification from a man, through a woman, as an inducement not to take action over an investigation he was conducting.
The offence was allegedly committed at Jalan Persiaran Perdana, Precinct 3 , Putrajaya, here, on November 21, 2019.
Azura allowed him bail of RM15,000 with one surety and also ordered him to surrender his passport to the court, report himself at the MACC headquarters every month, as well as to not intimidate witnesses in the case.
Deputy public prosecutor from MACC, Siti Noor Hafizan Zakaria , prosecuted, while lawyer M Rishee, represented the accused.
The court set Jan 21 for mention.
Earlier, during the proceeding at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, Zulkifly’s younger siste informed the court that her brother could not be at the court as he had been admitted to a private hospital in Shah Alam.
Following which, Siti Noor Hafizan requested the charge be read out to him at the hospital and also informed the court that the hospital had been informed of the matter.
She also told the court that when the case came up last Dec 11, the accused was also not present.
— Bernama
