Fadley Faisal
Pleas of not guilty were entered by seven Royal Customs and Excise Department (RCED) officers and personnel in the Intermediate Court yesterday who face charges of corruption, conspiring to commit criminal breach of trust and misuse of public office.
Judge Radin Safiee bin Radin Mas Basiuni adjourned the case to April 15 for trial dates to be fixed.
The case is a result of an arrest by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a joint operation with other security agencies between September 8 and October 4, 2022.
The operation is associated with information received by the ACB that RCED officers committed offences of selling items seized and kept at the RCED warehouse in Muara, some of which had been ordered for disposal.
This led to the arrests of Deputy Superintendent of Customs Pengiran Mohd Amir Ilham bin Pengiran Haji Yusop, who was the deputy head of the Assets and Logistics Management Unit, and Inspection Officer Pengiran Ehsaney Mohammad Mustaffa bin Pengiran Jalil, who were brought to the Magistrate’s Court on September 10 and ordered remanded for two weeks for further investigations.
Further probe led to the arrests of an Indian national and five other RCED officers and personnel involved. They were also remanded on various dates for further investigations.
One subsequent arrest made was on Deputy Superintendent of Customs and the Head of the Assets and Logistics Management Unit Abu Talip bin Haji Awang Tengah, charged for committing criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code in August for misappropriating properties seized by the RCED.
The properties included vehicle spare parts, a mini motorcycle, bicycles, mobile phones, watches, jade bracelets and a grass cutter entrusted to Abu Talip.
Meanwhile, Pengiran Mohd Amir Ilham, Pengiran Ehsaney Mohammad Mustaffa, customs officers Dayangku Harlizan binti Pengiran Zainal and Muhammad Nazirul Mubin bin Ismail, customs inspection officer Muhammad Khairul Zaman bin Haji A Said and customs personnel Marsidi bin Haji Bakir are charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read with 109 of the same for conspiring to commit criminal breach of trust sometime in August, while misappropriating the same properties entrusted to Abu Talip.
Investigations unearthed other offences allegedly committed by Pengiran Ehsaney Mohammad Mustaffa.
The allegations result in two charges faced by Pengiran Ehsaney Mohammad Mustaffa under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 131, for corruptly receiving BND150 and BND100 in September, 2022 as rewards from a contractor awarded two separate projects to conduct installation works at the RCED.
Pengiran Ehsaney Mohammad Mustaffa also faces a charge under Section 12B of the Prevention of Corruption Act for misconduct in holding public office, namely a customs inspection officer, by selling liquor to an Indian national sometime between August 28 and September 5, an offence in contravention of Section 78 of the Excise Order 2006.
Prosecutor Siti Khalillah Hussin represented the Public Prosecutor yesterday.
The defendants, except for Marsidi bin Haji Bakir, are represented by lawyers from firms at Messrs Yusof Halim and Partners, Ridzlan and Co, Abraham Davidson and Co, Yu and Chiew, Pengiran Izad and Lee.
