THE former mayor of the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Adib Azhari Daud, pleaded not guilty in the sessions court in Johor Baru today to 12 counts of accepting bribes amounting to RM1.55 million between 2020 and 2021, reported Bernama.

Adib, 63, is alleged to have received money as a reward for helping two men secure various projects in the MBJB area through another individual.

The payments were alleged to have been made in 12 transactions of between RM10,000 and RM250,000 each.

The projects included annual roadside landscape maintenance work for 28 months, annual maintenance work for pruning trees for 24 months, and maintenance work of the centralised sewage treatment plant and flood mitigation of Sg Segget for 24 months.

They also included the construction of Jalan Banjaran, work to repair collapsed slopes at Flat Sri Orkid and Bukit Tropika Park, and annual maintenance of the flood control pumps at Sg Sengkuang, Sg Chat and Sg Segget for 24 months.

The offences were allegedly committed at Jalan Serama 7, Larkin, between June 26, 2020, and August 6, 2021.

The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a prison sentence of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.

Judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman allowed Adib bail of RM120,000 for all the charges in two sureties, with the additional conditions of reporting to the Johor MACC office once a month, surrendering his passport to the court, and not disturbing prosecution witnesses until the disposal of the case.

The court fixed July 3 for re-mention and submission of documents.

The prosecution was handled by MACC deputy public prosecutor Natrah Fariha Rahmat, while Adib was represented by lawyer Azrul Zulkifli Stork. – June 2, 2024.