A clerk working for the Legal Profession Qualifying Board and five students arrested in connection with leaks of two examinations recently may face charges which carry jail terms of up to seven years, the police said today.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Salleh Mat Som told reporters this morning that the clerk, Ramli Md Mokhtar, 28, will be charged under Section 381 of the Penal Code for committing theft of the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) examination papers.
If guilty, he could be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to seven years, and be liable to a fine.
"The suspect revealed that he was involved in selling draft and original copies of the CLP and its supplementary examination question papers to candidates for between RM1,000 and RM5,000.
"He also admitted that he received two handphones as 'gifts'," Salleh said during a press conference in the police headquarters.
Salleh added that five CLP candidates may be charged under Section 411 for dishonestly receiving stolen property and could be punished with a jail term of up to five years, or a fine, or both.
Additional charges
Two of them may also be additionally charged for assisting in concealment of stolen property under Section 414. The charge carries a jail term for up to three years, or a fine, or both.
The five candidates are Miclamani S Sanda, 41, and Ramesh Raman, 33, both of whom are clerks at reputable law firms; chambering student Indrani Ramasamy, 29; ex-police Ramachandran Manikam, 38; and managing director of an engineering company, Roland Goh Poo Teong, 51.
All the suspects, except Ramachandran, were arrested following the board members' announcement last Monday, that results of the July CLP examination and its October supplementary test were nullified because of suspected leaks. The suspects are currently held under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The six-member legal profession qualifying board is made up of Attorney-General Ainum Mohamed Saaid, Federal Court judge Siti Norma Yaakob, High Court judge Abdul Wahab Patail, chief registrar of Federal Court Abdul Wahab Said Ahmad, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Assoc Prof Shamsuddin Suhor, and Bar Council chairman Mah Weng Kwai.
The board's decision irked the 232 candidates who passed the CLP examination. The candidates are now seeking legal advice on how to deal with the situation, while some are attempting to hold negotiations with the examination board.
Compulsory exam
Most of the candidates have started chambering and have been granted a short-call to appear in subordinate courts and the High Court to mention cases, six months before they are admitted to the Bar.
The CLP examination is compulsory for foreign law graduates from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand to qualify as advocates and solicitors in Malaysia.
These examinations, known to be extremely tough, have a passing rate of only about 30 percent.
The examination consists of five papers: General Paper, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Professional Practice.
Candidates are allowed to sit for the examination for up to four times in order to pass all the papers. If they fail any of these papers, they may take the supplementary tests.
