Company director claims trial to receiving bribe from Goh Hwan Hua

A company director pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here today to a charge of receiving a RM209,600 bribe from a businessman five years ago.

Chan Kim Kooi, 38, is accused of receiving the sum from Goh Hwan Hua – a director in I-Serve Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd – as an inducement to help the company obtain a RM20.6 million loan from a private trust management firm where Chan served as a director.

The prosecution claimed the RM209,600 was deposited into an account belonging to a company linked to Chan. The offence allegedly took place at a bank in USJ 9, Subang Jaya, on Feb 26, 2021.

Goh is also a co-founder of MYAirline, the Malaysian low-cost carrier established in January 2021 which abruptly suspended operations in October 2023, citing severe financial challenges.

The charge against Chan was framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act. If found guilty, Chan faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the alleged sum of RM209,600.

Judge Nasir Nordin granted Chan bail of RM40,000 with one surety and ordered him to report to an MACC office once a month pending the conclusion of the case.

The court fixed Nov 13 for case management.

Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin appeared for the prosecution while lawyer Naresh Mayachandran represented Chan.