PUTRAJAYA, March 4 — About RM12.48 million in alleged bribe payments are believed to have been transacted since 2021 between a syndicate of middlemen, known as “tontos”, and corrupt transport enforcement officers, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said today.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the payments were bribes paid to ensure overloaded commercial vehicles could evade enforcement action.
Azam said MACC had traced the payments to several mule accounts, leading to the freezing of 59 personal and 19 company accounts under an ongoing crackdown dubbed Ops Middleman, launched on February 24.
“A total of 18 individuals were arrested, including four officers from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and four from the Royal Malaysia Police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department.
“Two other company owners, one mule account owner and seven tontos were also detained during the operation conducted in the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan last month,” he told a press conference at the MACC headquarters here.
He said the tontos’ modus operandi involved paying enforcement officers monthly bribes ranging from RM100 to RM4,500 in exchange for immunity from action against their overloaded commercial vehicles under the Road Transport Act.
Various assets were also seized, including foreign currencies, luxury vehicles, jewellery, and mobile phones and communication devices, bringing the total value of assets confiscated to around RM7.7 million.
“These walkie-talkies were used by the tonto members to communicate among themselves and with other parties to facilitate their illegal activities,” Azam said.
To date, Azam said four individuals have had their statements taken and more are being sought in the ongoing investigations.
He also said the MACC will work alongside the police, as he did not rule out that these syndicate members are part of a larger criminal organisation.
Azam said the operation will be expanded to other states with cooperation from relevant stakeholders and intelligence obtained locally.
“However, I want to stress that this time it involves the tonto group because they act as the middlemen in facilitating the payment of bribes.
“So what we are trying to do first is ‘cut the string’ so that they will no longer be able to continue paying bribes,” he said.
Malay Mail – Malaysia
