A former deputy director 1 of the Immigration Department, Yusof Abu Bakar, was today found guilty of 14 counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM121,500 for approving the extension of the visit passes of Chinese nationals, two years ago.

Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Abu Bakar Katar made the decision after finding that the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt at the conclusion of the defence case.

The court later set Monday for sentencing for the case.

For all the charges, Yusof, 56, was accused of receiving bribes of between RM500 and RM18,500 for each transaction from a sales manager between March 21 and June 25, 2008.

He was accused of having committed the offences at his office in the Control Division, Level 7, Malaysian Immigration Department, Block 2G4, Precinct 2, Putrajaya; at the Federal Hotel, Jalan Bukit Bintang; and at the Caltex Petrol Station, Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.

All the charges were under Section 11 (a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 and punishable under Section 16 of the same act.

Upon conviction, he is liable to a prison term of not less than 14 days and not more than 20 years, and can be fined not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Earlier, counsel Mohammed Azmi Mohd Said, representing Yusof, applied to the court to have his client to be bound over although the punishment for the offence was imprisonment and a fine.

Mohammed Azmi said his client had served as a public servant for more than 30 years and would complete his service within the next two years, and after being charged on Aug 30, 2008, a child of the accused had died following a traffic accident.

"In this case, the accused had faced 14 charges and the issue relating to the death of his child had been the biggest blow in his life," he said.

However, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi sought for a severe punishment taking into account the public interest factor which was more important than individual interest.

- Bernama