Ex-magistrate gets 58 years’ jail, RM1.05 million fine for graft

The Sessions Court today sentenced a former magistrate to a total of 58 years in prison and a fine of RM1.05 million in default of 72 months’ jail after finding him guilty of six counts of soliciting and accepting bribes from a trader about two years ago.

However, Mohamad Amin Shahul Hamid, 41, formerly a magistrate at the Lipis and Raub court, only has to serve 12 years in prison as judge Ahmad Zamzani Mohd Zain ordered for the sentences to be served concurrently.

Zamzani allowed a stay of execution on the sentence pending Amin’s appeal to the High Court and imposed an additional bail of RM25,000 with one surety, bringing the total bail amount to RM50,000.

Amin was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.

In his judgment, the judge said Amin’s defence was a mere afterthought and a bare denial that failed to raise reasonable doubt in the case.

Amin was charged with soliciting bribes amounting to RM100,000 and receiving RM110,000 from one Hassan Basri Ahmad Sutan Modo in Lipis and Raub between July 5 and Oct 22, 2019.

The bribes were an inducement for the accused not to fine and jail Hassan Basri, who was then facing a charge for the possession of smuggled cigarettes.

The charges were framed under Section 16 (a)(B) and Section 17 (a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24 of the same act.

If convicted, he faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

In mitigation, lawyer S Meheraj asked for a minimum sentence, saying that Amin was a first-time offender who suffered from asthma.

“The accused has also been suspended since 2019 and now receives half his salary. To make a living, he helps his uncle at a padi field in Sungai Petani, Kedah,” he said.

MACC deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin however called for a deterrent sentence as the case had gone through a full trial.