A former secretary-general of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Abdul Hanan Alang Endut, was today charged with 10 counts of corruption at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.

He claimed trial before judge Syafeera Mohd Said.

He was charged with receiving gratification of RM59,390.60 for approving a project of Global Goodway Sdn Bhd.

NONE Abdul Hanan, 56, had earlier arrived at the court at 9.14am, escorted by officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)

He was arrested by the MACC at their headquarters in Putrajaya following months of investigations.

MACC, in a statement, had said that the officer was arrested over his alleged wrongdoings in approving a land title for a project in Penang.

Abdul Hanan becomes one of the most senior civil servants to be charged with corruption following a 2005 conviction of former Rural Development Ministry secretary-general Abdul Aziz Mohamad for cheating and corrupt practises.

More recently, Tourism Ministry director-general Mirza Mohammad Taiyab was acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court without being called to enter his defence for allegedly receiving valuable gratification in the form of an expensive dental treatment as a public officer.

Last year, former Immigration Department director-general Wahid Md Don was charged with receiving RM60,000 to speed up the process of approval visas for 4,337 Bangladeshi workers.

Principal and alternative charges

For each of the 10 principal charges levelled against Abdul Hanan, the MACC also produced alternative charges of which he claimed trial.

He is alleged to have used ten blank UOB Bank cheques which he had received from the owner of Global Goodway, Adam Omar, between Dec 1 and Dec 15 last year at his house to pay among others: renovation for his house, tithe, his credit card bill, assessment rate for several of his properties, land tax, water and service charges for his property and also his wife.

The cheques ranged from the amount of RM15 to a maximum of RM25,000 for each of the transactions.

He made payment with the cheques after he had approved the TechnoFund grant application for Global Goodway via the Fund Approval Committee within MOSTI which he chaired.

If convicted under the principal charge, the former secretary-general stands to face a minimum RM10,000 fine or five times the amount of gratification and a minimum 14 days jail, not more than 20 years.

For the alternative charge, Abdul Hanan faces a two-year jail term or fine or both.

Abdul Hanan, who is now placed under cold storage within the Public Services Department, following the MACC investigations, is represented by Badrul Munir Bukari. Principally, he will be represented by renowned lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is also Suhakam commissioner.

TechnoFund, which is placed under Mosti, is a pre-seed fund targeted towards the pre-commercialisation of new, cutting-edge and breakthrough technologies in industries such as agriculture, biotechnology and information communications technology.

According to Mosti's website, it is directed to stimulate growth and successful innovation of Malaysian medium and large enterprise by increasing its research and development capability, undertake market driven R&D, enhance global competitiveness and increase contribution to Malaysia's GDP.

MACC deputy head of prosecution, Anthony Kevin Morais applied bail at RM10,000 with one surety.

Syafeera allowed the bail application and fixed Nov 23 for mention. Abdul Hanan posted bail.