JOHOR BARU, Aug 12 — A 34-year-old policeman claimed trial at the Johor Baru Sessions Court here today to two charges of soliciting and receiving bribes worth RM3,500 more than four years ago.

The accused, Mohd Yusri Borhan, 34, pleaded not guilty before Judge Kamarudin Kamsun.

According to the first charge, he had allegedly demanded a monthly bribe of RM2,000 from a woman at 7pm on December 16, 2016.

The offence was committed at the Central police station of the Johor Baru South district police headquarters as an inducement for the accused who at the time was working at the crime prevention branch to provide information to the woman on any raids or operations.

For the second charge, the accused allegedly received RM1,500 from the same individual at 2.40pm on January 9, 2017 at Jalan Meldrum for a similar purpose.

The accused, a corporal, was charged under Section 16(a) B and Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and is punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same Act, which provides for imprisonment of not more than 20 years, or a fine of no less than five times the value, or whichever is higher, if convicted.

The prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officer Yunus Mohamed, while the accused was represented by lawyer Mohd Fazaly Ali.

Kamarudin set RM14,000 as bail with Mohd Yusri’s wife as guarantor. The accused was also asked to report every month at the nearest MACC office.

The court also set September 14 as the mention date for the case.