Magistrate Mohd Firdaus Ramlan was sent to prison today to serve his three-year jail term after losing his final appeal at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya to set aside the jail sentence and fine for bribery.

A three-member panel comprising Federal Court judge Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha and Court of Appeal judges Abdul Wahab Patail and Mah Weng Kwai unanimously dismissed Mohd Firdaus’ appeal.

The panel upheld the Kota Baru Sessions Court decision to find him (Mohd Firdaus) guilty on two counts of bribery and sentenced him to three years’ jail and fined him RM40,000.

Justice Jeffrey said that Mohd Firdaus, as a judicial officer, should set a good example and not commit such an offence.

He said there was no reason for the Court of Appeal to disturb the decisions of the Sessions Court and High Court as there were clear evidence of asking and receiving bribe in this case.

Mohd Firdaus, 30, was sentenced to three years’ jail and fined RM25,000 by the Sessions Court on Oct 3, 2010, on the first charge of asking for a bribe of RM5,000 from Md Shani Ishak as an inducement to reduce the latter’s drug sentence to a two-year good behaviour bond in the Kuala Krai magistrate’s court on Oct 6, 2009.

The Sessions Court sentenced Mohd Firdaus to three years’ jail and fined him RM15,000 on the second charge of accepting a bribe of RM3,000 from Shani through Chief Inspector Kamarul Ahmad at an Esso service station in Machang on Oct 11, 2009 for a similar purpose.

He was ordered to serve the sentence concurrently.

On Nov 22 last year, the High Court dismissed Mohd Firdaus’ appeal and upheld the Sessions Court decision.

Mohd Firdaus, a magistrate for Kuala Krai and Machang, paid the fine.

He was represented by lawyer Shukri Mohamed while deputy public prosecutor from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Abdul Razak Musa prosecuted.

- Bernama