TAWAU, June 20 — An administrative assistant at a secondary school here claimed trial at the Sessions Court today to two charges of abusing her position to obtain bribes related to school work worth RM39,900, four years ago.

Hasniah A M Nawir, 50, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to her before Judge Jason Juga.

According to the charges, Hasniah used her position to obtain a bribe for her husband, Saharuddin Kasim, involving the installation of sinks, plumbing and other works at the school worth RM19,980 by selecting MRD Enterprise to carry out the work.

Hasniah is also accused of using her position to obtain a bribe for herself by inviting Mega Corporation to provide photocopier and copy printer rental services for the same school through the ePerolehan system worth RM19,920, although the work was done by herself.

The accused is charged with committing both offences at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Abaka here in August and September 2020, respectively.

Both charges are under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The judge allowed the accused to be released on bail of RM15,000 with one surety, and ordered her to surrender her travel documents to the court.

She was also ordered to report to the nearest MACC office every two months. The case is scheduled for re-mention on Aug 20.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Izzati Sapifee appeared for the prosecution while the accused was not represented. — Bernama