By Xavier Kong
MOHD Fariz Mohd Ali, CEO of Melaka River and Beach Development Corp (PPSPM), has pleaded not guilty to four counts of accepting bribes said to amount to RM260,000 three years ago.
According to a report by The Edge, the charges state that he had received the bribes from LEC Impressions Sdn Bhd CEO Lim Boon Peng through a third party in four transactions. The money was allegedly meant for Mohd Fariz to help LEC Impressions secure a project to supply 10 Melaka River cruise boats to PPSPM.
The charges were framed under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and are punishable under Section 24(1) of the same act. This means, upon conviction, Mohd Fariz could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined at least five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
He also pleaded not guilty to four alternative charges of accepting something valuable for himself with no reciprocity – RM280,000 – from Lim in four transactions between Jan 4 and Nov 15, 2017, in the same timeframe of the four original charges.
Mohd Fariz is out on RM50,000 bail on condition he reports to the Melaka MACC office and surrenders his passport to the court. The case will be mentioned on July 23. – June 15, 2020
