PUTRAJAYA: Four people, including a company owner and director, were nabbed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for allegedly soliciting a RM60,000 bribe to "settle" a case under probe by the MACC.
Three of the men, aged between 39 and 54, were detained in a trap set in a hotel here at about 4.30pm yesterday.
One of them was the mastermind, known as "Datuk Roy", who was impersonating an MACC director.
The fourth person was picked up at his house in Melaka at 8.30pm.
All four were produced for remand at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court here this morning under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Rahim granted a six-day remand, from today until Dec 22.
Sources said the four men, who were impersonating senior officers from the MACC and deputy public prosecutor, had solicited bribes, supposedly to lighten charges against the complainant and re-open his bank account, said to have been frozen by the graft buster.
"Based on intelligence, the group members were even willing to walk into the MACC headquarters to have their photos taken to convince the complainant that they were indeed MACC officers.
"All their movements were recorded by the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera at the MACC headquarters," the source said.
The source added that the graft buster was also tracking down a woman, a member of the group, to help in the probe.
"The MACC has identified the woman and is hot on her heels," the source said.
When contacted, MACC Intelligence Division director Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman confirmed the arrests.
"Investigations are ongoing under Section 16 of the MACC Act," he added.
As such, the MACC has advised all quarters to be wary of individuals assuming the identity of their own officers to solicit bribes to "wrap up" cases under investigation.