SHAH ALAM (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A former chief executive and managing director at Tekun Nasional, a Malaysian government agency tasked with helping Malay entrepreneurs, was yesterday charged with two counts of corruption.
Abdul Rahim Hassan, 62, was accused of soliciting and receiving a bribe of RM36,000 (S$11,550) to speed up claims made by debt collection company Pasadana in 2015.
He pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court in the Selangor capital of Shah Alam.
The case comes in the wake of a high-profile corruption probe involving the top official at the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
The judge at the Sessions Court in Shah Alam yesterday set bail at RM18,000 for both charges against Abdul Rahim, and ordered the accused to hand in his passport. The trial has been set for March 13 to 17.
If convicted, Abdul Rahim may face a jail term not exceeding 20 years and a fine no less than five times the sum of the bribe received.
On Sunday, a team of officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) picked up Abdul Rahim at his house in Shah Alam.
It was earlier reported that the MACC is checking for links between Abdul Rahim and Datuk Mohd Arif Abdul Rahman, the Rural and Regional Development Ministry secretary-general who is being probed for alleged corruption, abuse of power and money laundering.
