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The Edge
MACC senior officer pleads guilty to misappropriating, disposing cash from ex-spy chief case
Shazni Ong/theedgemarkets.com
February 18, 2022 13:45 pm +08
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) senior officer Shahrum Nizam Baharuddin on Friday pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court under Section 403 of the Penal Code for misappropriating and disposing of valuable properties worth US$6.94 million (about RM29.01 million).
Shahrum Nizam, 41, was given the alternative charge on Friday after he was initially charged and claimed trial to a charge of criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
A total of three vehicles comprising a 4×4 Ford Raptor 2.0, Honda Civic Type R 2.4L Turbo, Mercedes Benz A250, as well as a Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition and a Ducati 1199 Superleggera bikes had been seized from the accused.
Besides that, other properties that were seized included a two-and-a-half-storey house in Kota Warisan, Sepang, two pieces of land in Jerantut, Pahang, as well as a blue Hublot Big Bang 1371256 watch and cash amounting to RM8,700.
The money was initially seized by the MACC from ex-spy chief Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid in 2018.
According to the facts of the case read in court, the accused had spent a total of RM2.71 million for the purpose of ownership of the assets from the period of Dec 17, 2018 to date based on the result of the investigation held.
Shahrum Nizam had taken the money on two occasions on the pretext of checking the amount and its authenticity but later changed them with a money changer in Kota Damansara.
In addition, the cash of RM8,700 was part of the loot amounting to US$6.94 million which was converted by the accused into ringgit while other assets were fraudulently purchased by the accused using the money entrusted to him.
The money was discovered missing when Hasanah’s successor, Datuk Rostam Affendi Salleh, wanted to retrieve it, but Shahrum Nizam failed to return it. The accused then printed and returned the counterfeit money to the Prime Minister’s Department where Rostam’s office was located.
However, upon discovery, a complaint was lodged with MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, resulting in Shahrum Nizam’s arrest.
Following Friday’s guilty plea, Shahrum Nizam was sentenced to three years’ jail and two strokes of the rotan. The jail sentence is to run from his day of arrest on Sept 13 last year.
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