Former special officer detained over RM25,000 bribery claim

KUALA LUMPUR - A special officer to a former minister has been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on suspicion of soliciting almost RM25,000 from an individual as an inducement to obtain an approval letter for a citizenship application.

A source from the MACC said the man, in his 40s, was detained at about 5 pm yesterday at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya when he was asked to record his statement.

The source said preliminary investigations revealed that the former special officer, who served in 2019, was alleged to have solicited the money from a local man who wanted his child’s citizenship application to be approved.

The source said last month, the suspect contacted the applicant’s father to inform him that the approval letter was in his hands. The suspect then proceeded to ask him for a payment of RM25,000 for the letter to be handed over.

He said the suspect was detained as a follow-up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement recently that some National Registration Department officers were being investigated for suspected corruption.

The source said the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court this morning issued a three-day remand order on the suspect.

Meanwhile, MACC Intelligence Division director Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman, when contacted, confirmed the arrest, adding the case is being investigated under Section 6(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009. - BERNAMA