Batu Caves:The Court of Appeal has confirmed a three-year prison sentence and an RM80,000 fine for Azrol Khalil, a former police corporal found guilty of accepting a bribe of RM16,000.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the appellate court also mandated that Azrol, aged 41, serve an additional year in prison if he does not pay the fine. The three-judge panel, consisting of Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin, unanimously rejected Azrol's appeal against his conviction and sentence.

In a judgment dated September 28, Judge Mohd Radzi clarified that Azrol had failed to counter the presumption of corruption under Section 50(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. The evidence demonstrated that Azrol received the bribe in connection to his role as a public officer, to close a commercial crime case against the complainant.

The RM16,000 payment was made to Azrol as an inducement to close the case, based on his assurance that he could influence the closure of the investigation. Judge Mohd Radzi dismissed Azrol's defense of collecting the money for a superior, noting Azrol's active role in negotiating and receiving the bribe, which was placed inside his shirt.

Azrol was charged with accepting the bribe from a 54-year-old man to halt a commercial crime case under investigation by the Commercial Crime Investigation Division at the Gombak District Police Headquarters. The offence occurred at a restaurant in Taman Prima Sri Gombak, Batu Caves, on February 7, 2022.

Azrol was found guilty by the Sessions Court on November 27, 2024, receiving a sentence of three years in prison and an RM80,000 fine, with an additional year in prison if the fine was not paid. His appeal was subsequently dismissed by the High Court on August 11 last year, upholding the original conviction and sentence.