Jinny
KOTA KINABALU: The Corruption Court yesterday ordered a staff of the Kota Kinabalu Courts house charged with accepting a bribe from another woman for the payment of an application for a late registration of birth, to be held in custody pending disposal of her case.
High Court deputy registrar Amir Shah Amir Hassan made the order on Jinny Daniul, 30, who appeared in court with her family members yesterday.
The court had on July 5 this year issued an arrest warrant against Jinny after she failed to turn up in court for a scheduled trial.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of her bail in the sum of RM5,000 and discharged her husband from being her surety.
Earlier, Jinny told the court from the dock that she had not run away but for the agonising stress she went through and admitted that she had an argument with her husband when she perceived him as not supportive in the case she was faced with.
“I lost control but I did not run away … I was at my brother’s house to calm down my mind for a while,” she explained.
Deputy public prosecutor Joyce Blasius argued that the accused knew of her trial but she had chosen not to be present in court, and further contending that even though she had had a quarrel with her husband it was not a valid reason for her not to appear in court.
“Her explanation is unreasonable and at the current stage, she has no bailor, and her bail has been forfeited by the court,” Joyce submitted.
She added that Jinny had never informed nor surrendered herself to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after she knew that warrant of arrest had been issued against her.
“I urge the court not to offer any bail to the accused as she has not been cooperative with MACC, nor to the court and its system despite being a staff,” Blasius said.
In his rebuttal, counsel Ram Singh for Jinny, urged the prosecution not to be too emotional despite conceding that his client had never informed the MACC of her whereabouts.
“She (Jinny) is a local, residing at Kampung Inobong, Penampang and I urge the court to maintain bail,” Singh submitted.
He further argued that both Jinny and her husband had quarreled over the payment of the legal fee and did not question her husband on July 5 this year because whatever transpired was privy between a husband and wife.
Amir Shah who sat as a Sessions Court judge, intervened that “the trial should not be halted in the absence of the accused.”
He said, “After hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence, I agree with the counsel for the accused that bail should be maintained and at the same time I also agree with the prosecution that there is no assurance that Jinny would not jump bail in future.”
The judge took note of the fact that the RM5,000 bail which was furnished had been forfeited and expressed agreement to the contention made by Singh that bail was of right as the alleged offence was bailable.
“I revoke bail for the accused despite her brother and mother being present in court and she is therefore to be remanded under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code or to make a fresh bail application before the trial judge,” said Amir Shah when reviewing Jinny’s warrant of arrest.
He rescheduled the trial of the case for September 5-7 this year. Jinny was charged under Section 16 (a) (B) of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, with receiving RM50 in cash from a woman in return for a document without any legal process before a magistrate.
The indictment carries a maximum jail of 20 years, and a fine of no less than five times the amount of bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Jinny was alleged to have committed the offence at the Kota Kinabalu Courts house between November and December, 2010.
Meanwhile, the accused also faces an alternative charge of dishonestly using as genuine a birth certificate which was registered under the name of the woman’s daughter with the signature of the magistrate which was fake, at the same time and place.
The offence was framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465 of the same Code, which provides for a jail term of up to two years, or with a fine, or with both, upon conviction.
During her first arraignment, Jinny was granted bail in the sum of RM10,000 deposited with RM5,000 with one local surety.
Singh informed the court that he would be filing a revision against the court’s order.