KUALA LUMPUR: A 39-year-old procurement officer of a ministry has been detained in connection with allegedly receiving bribes amounting to RM150,000 in exchange for awarding a contract for a RM2.6mil project.
The suspect was detained at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at about 8pm on Friday (June 25).
Sources said the latest arrest is a follow-up investigation on the same ministry’s assistant secretary as well as company owners and managers, who were detained since June 21 by graft busters.
“The investigation has uncovered the syndicate’s activities in acquiring 22 projects worth RM135mil at the ministry since 2017 until now, including the projects handled by the latest suspect.
“Investigators believe the syndicate hired other parties to conduct the projects that they obtained,” sources said on Saturday (June 26).
The suspect has been remanded until June 28 for further investigations, sources added.
“The remand order was issued by Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim at Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court after the MACC filed the remand application,” sources said.
For the project which was worth RM2.6mil, sources said it was a project to supply diving equipment for an enforcement agency.
On June 21, four marine engineering company owners were detained and remanded by the MACC for being suspected of giving bribes to acquire marine supply, services and maintenance projects, estimated to worth RM10mil.
A ministry’s assistant secretary was arrested on June 22 as well as a company manager.
The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
