Selangor Customs deputy chief Sarbaini Mohamad was at the Kuala Lumpur office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on April 6 to change his statement, not to retract it.

However, MACC officer Sheikh Niza Sheikh Mohamad told the inquest into Sarbaini’s death, that he did not know what “changes” the latter had intended to make.

Sarba NONE ini (left) 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 into its second week, seeks to clarify the circumstances of the death, attributed to a fall from the window of a third-floor pantry.

Sheikh Niza, who had led the MACC team which arrested Sarbaini on April 1 during the nationwide 3B anti-graft operation, said the Customs officer had at first denied taking bribes.

Replying DPP Abbazafree Abdul Abbas, he said: “On April 4, Sarbaini did not look as cheerful as he did on April 2... on April 4, we had a chat and I asked ‘Don’t you get any hikmat (blessings) working in the Customs (Department)?’

“He said he accepted wang ehsan (goodwill payments) from forwarding agents - RM50-100 from Zainal, Schenker Logistics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and RM30-100 from Ah Seng, Top Mark Freight & Shipping Sdn Bhd.”

Sheikh Niza said he had recorded the second part of Sarbaini's statement on April 4, in which he admitted to taking bribes from the forwarding agents.

It was this statement that Sarbaini had purportedly wanted to amend when he went to the MACC office on April 6, just hours before his death.

“I asked him if it was considered a bribe, but he said he didn’t take it as a bribe but considered it as a goodwill payment,” said Sheikh Niza.

The officer also said the MACC regards “goodwill payments” as a kickback.

Last week, another officer Mohd Rosly Mohd Saupi has similarly testified that Sarbaini had denied on April 2 that he had accepted bribes from Top Mark Freight & Shipping.

‘I cried when I heard the news’

Sheikh Niza, a prison warden from 1985-1997, said he does not know any special techniques to extract a confession from witnesses.

He said that, from the time he had joined the MACC, he has never attended any courses on interrogations techniques, stressing that he had not forced a confession out of Sarbaini.

“In fact I thought of us as good friends because we were in the same age-group. He was 56 and I’m 51, so I respected him, he told lawyer Rosli Dahlan, who is holding a watching brief for Schenker Logistics.

Rosli: You said you and the deceased (Sarbaini) were friends?

Sheikh Niza: Yes.

Rosli: Instead of threatening him or using other methods, did you try to convince him, as to try and win over the witness?

Sheikh Niza:

As I’ve said earlier I’ve never attended any course pertaining to interrogation techniques.

Rosli: Do you agree with me that techniques as such, in other words, to win over the witness, are far more effective?

Sheikh Niza: Yes.

Sheikh Niza, who spoke unhesitatingly, continued: “We were just having an empty conversation at first... (and) then I took his official statement. All the time, I treated him well.

“He was a good person... I didn’t see this (confession) coming ... Sarbaini looked pressured when he gave the statement.

“I cried (when I was told Sarbaini was dead). I asked ‘how could this happen?’ I just slumped into a chair and cried. I was sad... we were friends.”

The inquest was also told today that Sheikh Niza had been suspended for more than a month for a “serious offence” pertaining to Sarbaini’s death, but the details were not revealed.

He was also transferred to a different branch after the suspension.