Otman received APC three times during tenure at KBS, court told

The Sessions Court here was told that former Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) Finance Division undersecretary Otman Arsahd had received the Excellent Service Award (APC) three times during his tenure from Feb 16, 1998 until March 22, 2016.

KBS Human Resources Division undersecretary Mazlan Abd Mutalib, 49, said Otman had received the award in 2000, 2003 and 2009.

Mazlan, who is the first prosecution witness who was called to continue his testimony Thursday admitted that the awards implied that Otman had performed excellently at work.

"Excellent performance means the best," he said on Thursday, noting that during his tenure at KBS, there were no reports of misconduct or disciplinary action taken against Otman.

Mazlan said this during cross-examination by lawyer Zaid Ruslan representing the accused on the third day of the trial of Otman, 57, who is charged with 32 counts of abusing his position and submitting false claims for payment involving RM38.4 million, four years ago.

Otman was alleged to have committed the offences at the National Sports Council (NSC) office, the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil here, between Feb 28, 2012, and Nov 18, 2015.

On the 15 charges of abusing his position, Otman is accused of instructing the NSC director-general to pay RM2,161,000 to Dial Ex Sdn Bhd, owned by his two sons, purportedly for organising various programmes for the ministry, among them Futsal 2012 and F1 2013.

The charge under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount involved or RM10,000, whichever is higher, on conviction.

On the 17 charges of submitting false claims, Otman is accused of giving a letter through the ministry to the NSC's Finance Division director, Abdul Rashid Yaakub seeking payment totalling RM36,310,400 to companies allegedly owned by an affiliate, for various ministry programmes.

The charge under Section 18 of the same Act carries similar punishment on conviction.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Amir Nasruddin.

The hearing before Judge Azura Alwi continues Friday. -- BERNAMA