A director of a furniture company, Teo Wee Cheng, pleaded not guilty in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court today to nine charges of soliciting and accepting bribes amounting to RM12.87 million in connection with the Jana Wibawa project.

On two of the charges, Teo, 65, of SSH Furniture Sdn Bhd, was alleged to have solicited RM11.37 million, which is 10 percent of the tender price for the upgrading project of the bypass from Jalan Sawah Baru to Tenang Stesyen, Segamat, worth RM39.75 million, and a road construction project from Kampung Belukar Durian to Persimpangan Felda Waha, Sedili, Kota Tinggi, worth RM74 million.

The money was allegedly a reward for...