KUALA LUMPUR: A Selangor customs assistant director, who was detained overnight on Friday to assist the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation into corruption and money laundering, was found dead yesterday on the first floor of the Federal Territory MACC office in Jalan Cochrane, here.
MACC investigation director Datuk Mustafar Ali told a news conference that the body of Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, 56, was found at 10.15am.
He said Ahmad Sarbani came to the MACC office at 8.26am, riding a motorcycle alone, to discuss his case but because the officers were in a meeting at that time, he waited at the lobby until 9.30am.
An officer then took him to a room on the third floor and accompanied him there until 10.15am before making his way out to get the investigating officer to meet him.
“He returned to the room several minutes later and found that Ahmad Sarbani was not there. He went looking for him in the premises and found the body on the first floor,” he said.
It is understood that Ahmad Sarbani came voluntarily to the newly-completed MACC office.
“The MACC confirms that he was among the customs officers arrested on Friday at 1pm at the North Port Customs Office, Port Klang,” he said.
Mustafar said Ahmad Sarbani, who worked at the Port Klang customs office, was released on bail on Saturday at 12.30pm after giving his statement and had left the MACC office following his release.
Mustafar said the MACC had informed the deceased’s family and that the commission would leave it to the police to investigate.
Mustafar told a news conference on Saturday that the MACC had arrested 62 customs officers allegedly for involvement in corruption, money laundering and other offences.
The arrest involved 53 male and nine female officers aged between 24 and 56 years, including one with the rank of director.
Mustafar had said then that the operations involved five major ports, with Port Klang recording the most number of arrest at 48.
Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital where Ahmad Sarbani’s body was sent for post-mortem this afternoon, found his family members were already there.
Customs officials, however, barred the media from interviewing them and the hospital authority was not telling when the post-mortem could be completed.
A hospital source told Bernama that the post-mortem in a high-profile case like this requires time to complete because a second autopsy might be needed to make the findings conclusive.
Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman, who was also at the hospital, told the media that the Customs Department should be given ample time to calm the situation.
“We will provide assistance to Ahmad Sarbani’s family and we appeal for everyone to not complicate matters,” he said.
Efforts to contact customs director-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Yusuf, who was in Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu for the Pan-Malaysia Customs Directors Meeting proved futile but one of the officers said that he was expected return to Kuala Lumpur last night.
He said that he was scheduled to hold a news conference at the Sultan Mahmud Airport in Kuala Terengganu before leaving for the national capital.
Malaysian Customs Workers’ Union secretary Mohd Mazlan Mohd Shaari, when contacted, declined to comment, saying they had no details about the incident yet.
“We will meet the press on Friday and we will state our stand on the matter,” he said. — Bernama