Shah alam: Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director-general (Development) Dr Norhazni Mat Sari appeared in the Shah Alam Sessions Court today over a new charge of accepting RM9,110 for home repairs in 2022.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 59-year-old, who was previously charged with six counts of receiving RM21,000, pleaded not guilty to receiving the payment from a director of a scheduled waste management company. The payment was allegedly made via an online transfer to the account of a construction company linked to her official duties.
The offence is said to have taken place at a bank in Taman Sentosa, Klang, on May 25, 2022. Norhazni is charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail, a fine, or both if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin requested the court to maintain the bail granted by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on April 3 and proposed that this case be tried alongside her previous charges, pending the defence's consent.
Norhazni's lawyer, Haresh Mahadevan, did not oppose the prosecution's request and informed the court that the case mention at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court is scheduled for May 19.
Sessions Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin approved the prosecution's application for a joint trial and ordered that the bail and other conditions set by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court remain unchanged.
Previously, Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi had set bail at RM25,000 with one surety for all charges, with the additional condition that Norhazni surrender her passport to the court.
Last Friday, Norhazni pleaded not guilty to six charges of receiving RM21,000 from a scheduled waste management company four years ago. She is accused of receiving the money through online transfers into her son's bank account, knowing that the company's director had dealings related to her official responsibilities.
The alleged offences took place at a bank in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, between April 18, 2022, and July 19, 2024, with charges filed under Section 165 of the Penal Code.