A FORMER private secretary to a former minister was brought to the sessions court in Shah Alam again today and charged with six counts of soliciting and accepting gratification totalling RM106,500 to help a company secure an advertising tender under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry. 

Mohd Saifullah Mohd Minggu @ Mohd Hashim, 29, pleaded not guilty to all the charges after they were read out before judge Rozilah Salleh.

He was alleged to have committed the offences at several locations, namely Temasya Anggun, Glenmarie, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Dengkil, Sepang and Bandar Puteri, Puchong, between December 21, 2018 and March 30, last year.

On three of the charges, Saifullah was charged with accepting RM90,000 from the owner of Inter Bev Network Sdn Bhd, Ronald Seto Kong Seng, through Roslan Lahada, as an inducement to help secure the tender “Perkhidmatan Penghasilan Penjenamaan dan Kreatif Untuk Kempen Pengiklanan Tourism Malaysia” and “Perkhidmatan Pembelian Ruang Iklan Bagi Pasaran Negara-Negara Asia Utara dan Asia Timur Tourism Malaysia” for the company.

On the fourth to the sixth count, Saifullah was charged with soliciting and accepting RM16,500 from  Ronald Seto, also through Roslan, for deposit payments and rental of a house at Vipod Residences, No. 6, Jalan Kia Peng in Kuala Lumpur.

All the charges fall under Section 16 (a) (B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years  and fine of not less than five times the amount of  the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Asyraf Mohamed Tahir, requested for the case to be transferred to the sessions court in Kuala Lumpur to be heard jointly with another case involving Saifullah there on 18 similar charges.

He also requested RM200,000 bail in one surety be imposed.

Rozilah allowed the prosecution’s application and ordered Saifullah, represented by lawyer Md Yunos Shariff, to surrender his passport to the court, as well as report himself at the nearest MACC office on the first week of every month.

Last August 19,  Saifullah pleaded not guilty in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to 18 counts of accepting and soliciting bribes amounting to RM3,129,015 from a company owner to secure an advertising tender under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry. – Bernama, September 17, 2020.