Three policemen were charged separately today in the Kemaman Sessions Court with accepting bribes from a clerk of a scrap metal company.

Corporal Baderulhisham Abdullah Sani, 46, Sergeant Almi Yaccob, 56, and Sergeant Major Shamsudin Omar, 52, all of whom are attached to the Kemaman district police headquarters, pleaded not guilty before Judge Ahmad Bazli Bahruddin.

Baderulhisham was charged with accepting a RM500 bribe from clerk Nor Hasni Maria Ab Rahim as an inducement to refrain from making any checks on the purchase record of scrap metal at the premises of RBA Metal Sdn Bhd at Jalan Bukit Kuang, Kemaman at 4.50pm on 17 Dec 2009.

The offence, under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, is punishable with a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The judge set March 23 for mention of the case to enable Baderulhisham to appoint a lawyer, and released him on a bail of RM3,000.

Almi was charged with three counts of accepting RM500 each at 12.25pm on 8 Jan 2009, at 11.55am on 5 Nov 2009 and 2.30pm on 9 Dec 2009 from Nor Hasni Maria.

Shamsudin was charged with three counts of abetting Almi in accepting RM500 each on the three occasions from Nor Hasni Maria.

Both of them were alleged to have committed the offences under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, and are liable to be sentenced up to 20 years jail and fined up to five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The judge allowed bail of RM5,000 each for both of them, and set March 23 for mention of the case.

DPP Syafinas Shabudin of the MACC appeared for the prosecution.

- Bernama