KUCHING: Three businessmen and a Vietnamese woman have been remanded for five days by the Magistrate’s Court here on Wednesday to assist in investigations into a bribery case involving the alleged monopoly of all projects offered by two government departments in two districts.
The remand order was issued by Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Alwi against the four suspects, aged between their 20s and 50s.
The court approved their remand from today (Feb 5) until February 10 under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Earlier, media reports stated that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had arrested seven individuals, including a public works engineer and company owners, on suspicion of involvement in bribery to monopolise all projects offered by the two government departments in Sarawak.
According to sources, all suspects were detained between 7 am and 12 pm on Tuesday (Feb 4) at various locations across Sarawak in a special operation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the offence had been ongoing since 2006. Additionally, contractors involved in the scheme were found to have allowed their licences to be used in exchange for commissions of up to 10 per cent of the project value.
The public works engineer was also alleged to have received payments for facilitating the awarding of government department projects.
During the operation, the MACC seized a Proton X70 vehicle, approximately RM450,000 in cash, and jewellery.
The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
It is understood that the total amount of bribes collected to secure these projects in Miri, Sibu, and Kuching amounted to more than RM1.1 million.
Additionally, the Magistrate’s Court in Miri granted a four-day remand for two suspects, comprising an engineer and a businessman, while another businessman was remanded for one day by the Magistrate’s Court in Sibu today (Feb 5).
