The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has detained a senior officer of the Johor Bahru Department of Environment (DOE) for allegedly soliciting and receiving a bribe from a company that provided the Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

The 40-year-old suspect, a senior officer who served at the Johor Bahru DOE, was arrested at 4pm at the Johor Bahru MACC office here.

The preliminary investigation found that RM4,000 had been deposited into the account of a company belonging to the suspect on Dec 1, 2016, from a company that supplied EIA, EMP, Environmental Monitoring Report (EMR) and environmental audit work.

The money, believed to have been paid to the suspect for giving approval of the EMP supplied by the company for a developer involving a project in Pulai.

The case is being investigated under Section 17 (a) of the MACC Act 2006 that carries a maximum jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to RM10,000 or five times the amount of the bribe.

Johor MACC director Azmi Alias when contacted confirmed the arrest and said the suspect would be taken to the Johor Bahru Magistrate’s Court tomorrow to obtain a remand order to facilitate investigations.