Prisons officer jailed three years for receiving bribe from inmate

PUTRAJAYA: A prisons officer was sent to jail for three years after he lost his final appeal to set aside his conviction for receiving RM3,000 bribe as an inducement not to take disciplinary action against an inmate who tested positive for drugs.

Mohd Zamri Abdullah, 43, who had been released on RM15,000 bail pending disposal of his appeal to the Court of Appeal, will start his jail sentence from today.

He was seen hugging his wife, who was in tears, before being taken to the court lock-up.

The Court of Appeal three-member panel comprising Court of Appeal judges Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil and Datuk See Mee Chun and High Court Judge Azizul Azmi Adnan today dismissed Mohd Zamri's appeal to set aside his conviction, jail sentence and RM15,000 fine imposed by the Sessions Court.

In the court's decision, Justice Abdul Karim, who chaired the panel, said there was no error by the judges of the High Court and Sessions Court in their findings that warranted the appellate's intervention.

He said Mohd Zamri's appeal did not have merit and his conviction for the offence was safe.

Justice Abdul Karim then issued a warrant of committal for Mohd Zamri to begin his jail sentence.

On Sept 9, 2018, the Kota Bahru Sessions Court found Mohd Zamri guilty of receiving a bribe from Mohd Fakhrul Akashah Mat as an inducement not to take disciplinary action against one Wan Muhammad Azlan Wan Mahamod.

The offence was committed at the Pengkalan Chepa Prisons quarters in Jalan Maktab in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan at 10.15 pm on Dec 20, 2016.

The Session Court sentenced Mohd Zamri to three years in jail and a fine of RM15,000. He paid the fine. Mohd Zamri's appeal to the High Court was dismissed on April 22, last year.

According to the facts of the case, Mohd Zamri asked Wan Muhammad Azlan for RM3,000 for him not to take disciplinary action against the latter who tested positive for drugs on Nov 12, 2016.

Muhammad Azlan, who is serving an eight-year jail sentence at the Pengkalan Chepa Prison, then arranged for the money to be given through a friend. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials then set a trap and Mohd Zamri was caught with the money in his quarters.

Lawyers Cheah Poh Loon and Shaharuddin Mohamed represented Mohd Zamri while deputy public prosecutor Wong Poi Yoke appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA