[UPDATED] MACC remands three, including Datuk, over RM1mil cigarette smuggling bribes

PUTRAJAYA: Three people, including a company owner with a Datuk title, have been remanded over allegations that they paid RM1 million in bribes to police officers to protect cigarette smuggling activities.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the suspects were believed to have acted as intermediaries, channelling bribes to several policemen to ensure no enforcement action was taken against cigarette smuggling operations in the East Coast states and the Klang Valley.

The suspects comprise a male company owner and two women, who work as a tuition teacher and a marketing officer. They are aged between their 30s and 50s.

They were arrested at 4pm on Nov 1 at separate locations in Putrajaya, Selangor and Johor.

A four-day remand order, from Nov 2 to 5, was issued against all three suspects by magistrate Ezrene Zakariah following an application by MACC at the Putrajaya magistrate's court on Monday.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were believed to have been involved in the scheme since 2020.

The suspects allegedly conspired to facilitate payments totalling RM1 million to police personnel in return for protecting illegal cigarette smuggling activities and ensuring those involved escaped enforcement action.

Following investigations, MACC's Intelligence Division, in collaboration with the police, conducted searches at several locations, including offices and residences linked to the suspects.

During the operation, investigators seized four luxury vehicles valued at RM600,000, four mobile phones and a laptop.

MACC also froze 20 personal bank accounts and nine company bank accounts containing a combined RM1.5 million.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman confirmed the arrests.

He said the case was being investigated under Section 17(b) of the MACC Act 2009, which deals with the offence of giving or offering gratification.

Under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, a person convicted of giving or offering a bribe faces penalties under Section 24(1) of the same Act.

The offence is punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act and carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.