Ayer keroh: A former bank employee was fined a total of RM90,000 by the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to 17 charges involving bribery and failure to report corrupt payments linked to housing loan referrals. Judge Elesabet Paya Wan imposed the sentence on Mohd Rais Mohamed Ramli, 44, and ordered him to serve between two and 10 months' imprisonment for each charge if he fails to pay the fine.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the charges stated that Mohd Rais, then the bank's regional sales head, had accepted bribes amounting to RM123,132.50 from a law firm through his wife's company account. The payments, ranging from RM2,820 to RM15,545, were allegedly given as an inducement for helping the law firm secure referrals for housing loan cases through a bank executive officer under his supervision.

The offences were committed at a bank branch in Taman Seri Gombak, Batu Caves, Selangor, between December 13, 2019, and January 27, 2023. Mohd Rais was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 for accepting bribes, as well as Section 25(1) of the same Act for failing to report the bribes to MACC officers or the nearest police station.

Earlier, during mitigation, defence counsel S.S. Amritpal Singh highlighted that his client, who currently has no permanent job, has a wife and three children to support. MACC deputy public prosecutor Sharina Farhana Nor Sa'ari appeared for the prosecution.