Appeal in graft case adjourned to Dec 3

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KUCHING: An appeal by two policemen convicted of two counts of graft has been adjourned to Dec 3.

Justice Datuk Yew Jen Kie set the date to hear an application made by the appellants’ defence counsel Roger Chin for her to recuse herself from hearing the case.

The appellants are Constable Mohd Fairus Alang Abdul Rashid and Lance Corporal Wan Fauzi Wan Muda.

Chin said that it was not appropriate for the same judge to preside over the same case twice.

Fairus and Wan Fauzi were originally discharged and acquitted by Yew in the Sessions Court on Dec 28 last year.

When the prosecution appealed against the decision at the High Court, the case was reverted back to the Sessions Court where Yew presided again. Yew set aside their acquittal and ordered them to enter their defence on Sept 27.

For the first offence, each of them was sentenced to 12 months’ jail and fined RM15,000, in default eight months’ jail.

For the second offence they were each sentenced to 20 months’ jail and fined RM10,000 in default four months’ jail.

The judge ordered the jail terms to run concurrently.

However not satisfied with their conviction, the duo filed an appeal against it. Chin applied to the Court for the judge to withdraw herself from hearing the case.

Fairus and Wan Fauzi were found guilty of soliciting a bribe of RM3,000 from a businessman as an inducement not to take action against him for employing a minor. They were also found guilty of accepting RM1,500 from the businessman for that purpose.

The two offences were committed at 11.45am and 12.55pm at Jalan Stephen Yong and Jalan Khung Pin Ulu respectively on Sept 18, 2009.

They were convicted under Section 16(a) (B) and Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 with both charges punishable under Section 24 of the same act and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

The section carries a jail term not exceeding 20 years and a fine not less than five times the sum of the gratification which is the subject matter of the offence, where such gratification is capable of being valued or is of a pecuniary mature, or RM10,000, whichever is the higher, for each charge.

DPP Poh Yih Tinn stood in for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission prosecution team yesterday.