PUTRAJAYA, Nov 22 — Former Melaka Public Works Department (PWD) director was sent to jail for 15 months and ordered to pay a fine of RM5 million after he lost his final appeal against his conviction on 13 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering.

A three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Justice Datuk Hanipah Farikullah dismissed Datuk Khalid Omar’s final appeal against his 15-month jail sentence for the 13 corruption charges.

She said Khalid’s conviction was safe as the court agreed with the Sessions Court judge’s decision, which was upheld by the High Court, that the defence had failed to raise a doubt that the monies received from sub-contractors were used for the department’s social and sports activities as claimed by Khalid.

In the court’s unanimous decision, she also affirmed Khalid’s conviction on one money laundering charge involving RM375,000 in cash which he committed in a house in Taman Merdeka Jaya, Batu Berendam, Melaka on August 15, 2016.

Justice Hanipah who sat with Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, however, allowed Khalid’s appeal to set aside his conviction, 15 months jail sentences and RM31 million fine on four other money laundering charges.

Khalid, 61, was appealing against his 15 months jail term and RM36 million fine meted out on him by the Melaka Sessions Court in July 2018 after finding him guilty on 13 counts of corruption and five counts of money laundering.

The Sessions Court had sentenced him to 15 months’ jail for each of the 13 counts of corruption, and 15 months’ jail and RM36 million fine, in default five months’ jail for each of the five counts of money laundering, and ordered the sentences to run concurrently.

He (Khalid) lost his appeal which was upheld by the High Court on February 11, last year.

Khalid, who was on RM350,000 bail pending his final appeal in the Court of Appeal, will have to serve his jail sentence starting today.

On the corruption charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, Khalid was charged with receiving RM196,200 in bribes at the Melaka PWD office at Jalan Taming Sari between March 2014 and August 2016.

Khalid was also charged for money laundering involving over RM5.2 million, in the form of RM206,396.16 in the Amanah Saham Bumiputera 2 account; RM506,735.92 in Tabung Haji account; RM1,984,798.08 in an Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 account and over RM2.13 million in an Amanah Saham Didik account.

The offences were committed at several locations in the state, between September 1, 2015 and August 15, 2016 and the charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

He was represented by a team of lawyers led by Ragunath Kesavan while the prosecution team was led by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar. — Bernama