Policeman faces 98 charges of accepting bribes

KUANTAN: It took four court interpreters more than 40 minutes to read out to a police sergeant major charges of accepting bribes - all 98 of them.

The policeman, Anuar Yaakob, 54, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court before Judge Datuk Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain to having accepted the bribes amounting to RM31,400 in 2021 and 2022.

The father of three children is alleged to have received between RM100 and RM2,000 without reciprocity from several people connected to his official duties, with the money having been transferred online to his bank account.

He is alleged to have committed the offences in Kuantan between January 2021 and October 2022 while attached to the Investigation/Legal Division (D5) of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Pahang Police Contingent Headquarters with the rank of sergeant and as the chief of the Cherating Police Station as sergeant major.

Anuar, who has more than 30 years of service, was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

DPP Rifah Izzati Abdul Mutalif of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) proposed bail of RM15,000 and sought the court's order to have Anuar report to the MACC office every month, hand over his passport to the court, and refrain from influencing the prosecution witnesses.

Lawyer Mohd Baharuddin Ahmad Kassim, who represented Anuar, appealed for a lower bail amount, saying his client was earning about RM3,000 a month and had to support a family, including old parents.

Ahmad Zamzani set bail at RM15,000 in one surety and allowed all the additional requests of the prosecution.

The court set Sept 25 for submission of documents.

-- BERNAMA