ABOUT 70 officers and personnel from various enforcement agencies in the northern states are being closely monitored by anti-graft agency officials for allegedly running a bribery scheme involving transport companies.

The operation, which began today, saw Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers nab 11 officers who are part of a group targeting overloaded lorries plying the northern states.

MACC sources told The Malaysian Insight intelligence revealed that these officers and their subordinates could each collect between RM10,000 and RM25,000 every month.

“This is the second wave of our operations,” MACC sources told The Malaysian Insight.

Last year MACC arrested 75 Road Transport Department (RTD) officers who were believed to have collected bribes of between RM10,000 and RM36,000 each month not to take action against lorries which were overloaded.

The deal also included tipping off the lorry owners when the RTD was to carry out operations. Those  under protection were given special stickers for identification.

Sources told the Malaysian Insight several traffic policemen were also involved.

“The operation is divided into several phases and this morning we nabbed eight people, including a senior officer, heading one of the state enforcement units. Many more are on our radar and will be detained in stages,” a source said.

He said the MACC was looking at getting remand orders for those detained today. They will be produced at the Penang Sessions Court tomorrow morning.

Sources said the latest operation was triggered by honest lorry drivers who complained they were being asked for bribes if they did not want trouble from the RTD while driving in the north.

“Some of them were also threatened if they did not pay up.

“We had hoped our big operation last year would have put an end to this, but it appears not to have worked,” a source said.

He said some of the RTD officers were back with a vengeance and were demanding compensation for the months they could not collect bribes.

He said they had initially laid off for fear of MACC scrutiny but returned when they felt the coast was clear.
 
The source said bribes were paid to agents, family members or close friends, ostensibly to make it difficult to trace the money back to them. – March 10, 2020.