MOHD Syafeeq Mohd Shukri, son of the Perlis menteri besar, claimed trial today to a charge of submitting RM19,000 in false claims for the supply of drinks to the Perlis ruler, New Straits Times reports.

Mohd Shukri Ramli’s son is accused of submitting a fraudulent government order, under the name of Mohd Farid Abdul Hamid, to supply drinks for Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail in the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital.

Syafeeq was charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in jail and a fine of five times the amount of the false claim or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The charge was read to him before judge Norsalha Hamzah in the Perlis Sessions Court.

MACC deputy public prosecutor Rehab Abdul Shukur proposed bail at RM30,000. He asked for the accused to surrender his passport to the court and report to the Kangar MACC office every month while on trial.

In mitigation, lawyer Mohd Fadhly Yaacob representing the accused asked for lower bail as his client has a wife and a child to support. He told the court his client earned RM1,500 a month farming rice and selling gas.

Bail was set at RM20,000 with one surety. June 28 was fixed for case mention.

On April 24, Shukri’s son was among six people remanded by MACC to assist in an investigation into the alleged falsification of documents to claim RM600,000.

A senior officer from the Perlis menteri besar’s office was among the remanded.

The suspects, aged between 27 and 37, were detained over a probe into the execution of development projects, including repairs and maintenance, in Perlis since 2022.

On April 26, Shukri’s son and four others were released on bail upon the expiration of their remand order.

Four days later, on April 30, MACC detained Shukri under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 for power abuse.

He was subsequently released on bail. – May 23, 2024.