THE Malacca High Court yesterday increased the prison sentence against a former assistant engineer at the Royal Malaysian Police Technical College (PDRM) in Bakri, Muar, Johor from 14 to 37 years on eight charges of accepting bribes amounting to over RM400,000.

Judge Anselm Charles Fernandis imposed the sentence on Hairudin Ngadiron, 48, and also increased the fine from RM341,000 to RM2.34 million.

The court handed down prison sentences ranging from four to seven-and-a-half years, to be served concurrently. This means Hairudin only has to serve a prison sentence of seven years and six months. He would be imprisoned for another seven years if he failed to pay the fine.

Anselm made the judgment after rejecting Hairudin’s appeal against his conviction and prison sentence amounting to 14 years and a fine of RM341,000 handed down by the Malacca Sessions Court on October 23, 2020.

The judge also set aside the order of acquittal by the same Sessions Court against the first and second charges after allowing the prosecution’s appeal and sentenced him to seven years and six months in prison and a fine of RM1 million for each charge.

For the third charge, the court imposed a prison sentence of six years and a fine of RM145,000 while for the fourth to sixth charges, the appellant was sentenced to four years in prison each and fined a total of RM149,000.

The court also upheld the four-year prison sentence and a fine amounting to RM47,000, for the seventh and eighth charges considering that the sentence handed down by the Melaka Sessions Court was sufficient.

Judge Anselm granted the appellant’s request to stay the prison sentence and fine pending his appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Hairudin was convicted of accepting bribes in the form of cash and home repair items amounting to RM465,886.32 from January to April 2017.

The bribe was received as inducement for contracts to carry out repair work at the Bakri PDRM Technical College, Muar.

The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Wai Keong appeared for the prosecution while Hairudin was represented by lawyer Mohd Razak Sharif. – Bernama, November 18, 2023.