Two UniMAP lecturers and a company owner plead not guilty to submitting false documents worth RM490,000 for software services.

KANGAR: Two lecturers from a local university and a company owner were charged in the Sessions Court here today with submitting false documents related to the supply of software and related services worth RM490,000, four years ago.

The accused, Anuar Mat Safar, 54, and Shahrul Nizam Yaakob, 45, both from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), together with Jonathan Wee Heng Chye, 51, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to them before Judge Datuk Nu’aman Mahmud Zuhudi.

They were accused of submitting a document containing false information to the assistant accountant at the UniMAP Treasury Department to deceive the department.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Treasury Department, Chancellery Building, UniMAP, between Dec 24, 2020 and Feb 17, 2021.

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The document, an invoice from Interstream Sdn Bhd, was related to the supply, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of the Blockchain Integrity Platform E-Verification Software and related services, valued at RM490,000.

All three were charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, and face punishment under Section 24 of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, they may be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

Earlier, MACC prosecuting officer S. Sujatha requested the court to impose bail of RM30,000 with one surety for each accused.

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The court later set bail at RM10,000 each with one surety for Anuar and Shahrul Nizam, while Wee was granted bail of RM15,000. The case was fixed for mention on Dec 9 for the submission of documents.

Anuar and Shahrul Nizam were represented by counsel Zuhair Ahmad Zakuan, while Wee was represented by counsel Shahidah Muslimah Roslan. – Bernama

 The Sun Malaysia