The Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigations head today told the inquest into the death of a customs officer that the deceased had confessed to receiving bribes from two freight forwarding companies.

"He confessed to receiving from RM30 to RM200 a month from Ah Seng of Top Mark freight and Shipping Sdn Bhd.

NONE "And between RM50 to RM100 a month from Schenker Logistics employee Wan Zainal," revealed deputy commissioner Mohd Fauzi Husin ( left ), the seventh witness called by the inquest.

Responding to questions from DPP Abbazafree Abdul Abbas, the MACC official explained that the confession was made voluntarily when the deceased, Selangor customs deputy chief Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamad, was called back to clarify his first caution statement after his arrest on April 1 as a suspect in a graft case.

Sarbaini was arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown against errant customs officers allegedly guilty of receiving bribes dubbed Operation 3B, for the three billion Ringgit the government was seeking to recover in illicit funds.

He was found dead on the badminton court on the first floor of the MACC building located on Jalan Cochrane on April 6, moments after he was escorted into a witness holding room.

The inquest before coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani, which is in its fourth day today, seeks to clarify the circumstances of Sarbaini's death, which is believed to have resulted after a fall from the window of a third floor pantry.

'Retracting of confession a hindrance'

Mohd Fauzi, the head of the anti-graft body's Kuala Lumpur branch investigations unit, also related what he knew of the day the customs officer allegedly fell.

He told of how Sarbani came to the commission's office on April 6 to change his statement and retract his earlier confession - a "hindrance" to their investigations, he said, especially as the suspects and companies named in admission were not yet investigated and detained.

He denied however that he or his officers harboured ill will toward the deceased because of it, as it is the norm in their work to face such unpredictable behaviour from suspects.

Mohd Fauzi also told the inquest that, in their interrogation of suspects, MACC officers are trained to use psychological tools and techniques, using "sentiments and emotions" to coax statements and confessions.

Staff under his command were instructed to protect the dignity of those interrogated and told not to use intimidation, he said.

Still, Mohd Fauzi did not deny that the possibility that some officers may resort to less genial means to extract information under the stress, lack of sleep and busy timetable of a nationwide operation like Ops 3B.

Discrepancies among MACC officials' accounts

After listening to Mohd Fauzi's version of the events, lawyer Awtar Singh, representing Sarbaini's family, then pointed out several discrepancies in the testimonies of previous witnesses and the deputy commissioner through accounts of senior MACC officials in news reports following the incident.

NONE He tendered news articles from The Star and Cosmo dated April 7, which quoted top MACC officials.

Chief among his contentions was the mention of CCTVs in the place where Sarbaini was found dead.

Mohd Fauzi however professed no knowledge of cameras in the area.

Awtar also pinpointed MACC officials who were quoted in the media as saying that Sarbaini was escorted into an investigation officer's office and then left alone prior to being found dead.

He pointed out that Mohd Fauzi's description of events were different as the investigation chief maintained that the deceased was escorted into a witness holding room and accompanied by an MACC officer.

Refusing to comment on the media reports, Mohd Fauzi posited that the officials may have received information from other sources and the veracity of the statements has to be discounted as they were prepared and made in haste.

The officer however maintained that his version of events was the result of internal investigations into the matter and represented what really happened to the best of his knowledge.

Last person to see Sarbaini alive says he seemed fine