PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Four people, including the chief executive officer of the Skills Development Fund Corp, have been remanded for six days over a RM40 million (S$12.9 million) bribery case.

Magistrate Nik Isfahanie Tasnim Wan Ab Rahman allowed the remand order after hearing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) application on Thursday (Sept 14).

The four included the corporation's 58-year-old chief executive, its 34-year-old secretary, a 32-year-old assistant financial officer and a 38-year-old company director.

They were nabbed by MACC officers at several places in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

The corporation is a statutory body under the Human Resources Ministry.

It provides financial assistance in the form of loans to individuals, such as school leavers, graduates and others interested in pursuing a Malaysian Skills Certification, Malaysian Skills Diploma and Malaysian Advanced Skills Diploma at public or private skills training institutions.

It is learnt that the misappropriation of funds has been going on since last year and three of the suspects had collaborated with the company director to allow 15 of his registered companies to manage the training programmes.

But none of his companies was said to have been equipped with the expertise to conduct such training.