A former state Public Works Department (PWD) director was sentenced to 22 years and six months' jail and fined RM36 million by the Sessions Court Malacca today on 18 counts of corruption and money laundering, involving more than RM5.4 million.

Judge Mohd Nasir Nordin meted out the sentence on Khalid Omar, 58, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of the defence case.

The court sentenced him to 15 months' jail for each of the 13 counts of corruption, and 15 months' jail and RM36 million fine, in default five months' jail for each of the five counts of money laundering, and ordered the sentences to run concurrently beginning today.

However, Mohd Nasir allowed a stay of execution of the sentence pending appeal in the High Court and set bail at RM250,000 in one surety.

On the corruption charges, Khalid was charged with receiving RM196,200 in bribes at the Melaka PWD office at Jalan Taming Sari between March 2014 and August 2016.

The charges were framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides an imprisonment for up to two years, or with fine, or any two of the punishments, if found guilty.

Khalid was also charged with 13 counts of money laundering, involving more than RM5.2 million, in the form of RM206,396.16 in the Amanah Saham Bumiputera 2 account; RM506,735.92 in Tabung Haji account; cash of RM375,200; RM1,984,798.08 in an Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 account and more than RM2.13 million in an Amanah Saham Didik account.

The offences were committed at several locations in the state, between Sept 1, 2015 and Aug 15, 2016, and the charges were made under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years, or a fine not less than five times the aggregate sum or value of proceeds from the illegal activities, upon conviction.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors from the MACC, Ahmad Akram Gharib and Mohd Khairulhazman Ghazali, while Khalid was represented by counsel Baljit Singh Sidhu.

A total of 45 prosecution witnesses and five defence witnesses were called to testify in the trial, which began on March 27, 2017.

-- Bernama