By Neville Spykerman
SHAH ALAM: Seven people today claimed trial to charges of corruption in connection with illegal sand mining in Selangor at the Sessions Court here.

The accused include a police inspector, government servants and a housewife.

They were picked up in three separate Malaysian Anti Corruption Comission (MACC) investigations and were charged before Sessions Court judge Mat Ghani Abdullah.

The MACC had detained 34 people in five states as part of its probe into illegal sand-mining. Those detained included two politicians and civil servants, for allegedly accepting bribes of cash and sexual favours.

With the arrests, the anti-graft body said it believed it had dismantled a syndicate involved in smuggling sand to a neighbouring country.

Among those detained were Hussein Ahmad, the executive secretary to Selangor Agriculture, Natural Resources and Entrepreneurial Development committee chairman Yaakob Sapari. However Hussein was not in court today.

Inspector Abdul Amir Wahab, 40 from the Kajang District Police Headquarters Traffic Department pleaded not guilty to five charges for receiving bribes, amounting to between RM200 and RM1,500, an inducement for not taking action against lorries carrying sand beyond legal capacity.

The is accused of committing the offences at various locations between Nov 6, 2008 and March 4 last year. Bail was set at RM7,000 and his trial was scheduled between 6 and 8 July.

Assistant Land director Abdul Halim Khailani, 47, at the Hulu Langat District and Land Office was charged with receiving an RM2,000 bribe for not taking action on illegal sand mining, on April 24 last year. His bail was set at RM6,000 and his trial was scheduled for between 17 and 18 May.

Assistant Land Manager Abdul Wahab Nordin with Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd, a state link company, was charged with taking an RM3,000 bribe on Sept 18 last year, as inducement to process an application for sand mining at Sungai Langat, Sepang. His bail was set at RM5,000 and trial is scheduled for May 20, 21 and 24.

Runner Hamzah Che Hassan was charged with taking an RM500 bribe to obtain a sand mining permit on Oct 22 last year. His bail was set at RM2,500 and his case is schedule for trial between June1 and June 3.
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Housewife Latifah Mahfodz, 45 and Azman Annhar, 44, who is self employed, were jointly charged for taking RM10,000 bribes on two occasions on Jan 14 and Jan 18.

The money was collected, on pretext, as inducement on behalf of the Hulu Langat District Land Office and the MACC not to take action against illegal sand mining on Government land at Bukit Enggang, Hulu Langat.

Bail was set at RM5,000 for each of them and their trial is scheduled between May 17 and May 19.

Former senior operations officer Ahmad Sofien Zainudin, 30, with Mas Golden Boutique Sdn Bhd was also charged today with criminal breach of trust for intentionally allowing 6,225 cartons of cigarettes to be removed from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) tax free zone on Nov 27 last year.

Bail was set at 4,000 and his case is scheduled for mention on March 15. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Siew Wee appeared for prosecution.