KUCHING: Two company directors with ‘Datuk’ titles, who were remanded for two days to facilitate further investigation into a corruption case, were released by the Magistrate’s Court here on Sunday (Sept 13).
They were released on a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) bail of RM100,000 with one surety.
They were detained by MACC for alleged submission of false claims involving 10 road construction projects under the Defence Ministry’s ‘Jiwa Murni’ programme in Sarawak worth RM800 million.
The men aged 42 and 44 were detained in a special raid by MACC in collaboration with the Defence Ministry on Sept 8.
Initially the Magistrate’s Court ordered the men remanded until Sept 11. The remand was extended for two more days which expired on Sunday (Sept 13).
The projects were the upgrading of existing roads, connecting various rural towns in Miri, Kapit, Ba’ Kelalan, Limbang and Baram, awarded to the company between 2010 and 2016.
Lawyer Shankar Ram, one of their counsels when contacted had confirmed the release.
“He (client) is released and we recorded our appreciation to MACC in their professional handling of the matter.
“And also my appreciation to the learned Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) S Thangavelu and his team,” he said.
As reported by Bernama, a source from MACC said the Jiwa Murni project was awarded to the company whose two directors owned three other companies and monopolised the related projects.
The source said many complaints were received from the local people regarding the bad road conditions as they were built not according to specifications.
It added that some of the roads could not be used and were damaged months after being built. The affected areas are Miri, Kapit, Ba’ Kelalan, Limbang and Belaga.
Technical studies found that these roads did not meet the standard set by the Public Works Department.
The case is investigated under Section 16(b), 17(a) and Section 19 of the MACC Act 2009.
