TAWAU: A civil servant claims trial for deceiving the Social Security Organisation (Socso) claims for his two children five years ago.
Muhammad Rajis Muhid, 38, who is a grade W19 Customs officer here pleaded guilty after his charge was read before Special Corruption Court judge Jason Juga.
According to the charge sheet, the accused is alleged to have deceived the Tawau Socso manager Joseph Immanuel, by providing false statements under Section 12 C (2) and (3) of the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 regarding residing with his two children, leading Joseph to approve Dependency Benefits for each child amounting to RM9.14 per day each.
The offence was committed at Tawau Socso office on March 27, 2019, and the prosecution was presented under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which, upon conviction, carries a penalty of imprisonment ranging from one year to a maximum of 10 years, and whipping, as well as a fine.
The prosecution, led by Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer Norsham Saharom, offered bail in the amount of RM10,000 with several additional conditions, including the accused being required to report to the MACC office and surrendering his international passport to the court, besides being prohibited from approaching prosecution witnesses.
However, the accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, requested a minimum bail amount owing to financial difficulties, since his net monthly pay was RM1,400, in addition to needing to settle housing and personal loan commitments.
The court then set bail at RM10,000 (with a deposit of RM2,000) with a local guarantor and additional conditions as requested by the prosecution.
The case management is set for March 26.