PUTRAJAYA: A former director of the Implementation Coordination Unit in the Prime Minister's Department Penang will remain in jail and pay his fine after the Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected his appeal and upheld his conviction on two corruption charges involving a total value of RM50,818.50 nine years ago.

       The three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Judge Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, however, reduced Mohd Noor Rejab’s jail term from three years to 15 months after considering several factors, especially his age of 60 years.

       In a unanimous decision, Judge Kamaludin said the court was of the view that there was no strong reason to intervene in the findings of the previous courts which found the appellant guilty of both charges.

       "We have seen the judgments of the Sessions Court and the High Court and we find that both courts made consistent findings. The findings made are based on facts and we cannot interfere with the facts without reason. We are sorry Encik Mohd Noor, we cannot do anything.

       "However, the lawyer representing the appellant (Mohd Noor) has appealed against the sentence and after considering the background, age and other factors, in this case, the court reduced the three-year jail sentence to 15 months and a fine of RM130,812.50 was maintained for the charge under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 and the one-year imprisonment has been reduced to six months for an offence under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

       "The court ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently, starting today,” said Judge Kamaludin, who sat with Justices Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Hashim Hamzah.

       Mohd Noor has already paid the fine.

       As soon as the court adjourned, Mohd Noor was seen hugging a woman believed to be his daughter and trying to calm her down.

       Mohd Noor was appealing against the decision of the Penang High Court on July 11, 2019, which upheld the three-year jail sentence and a fine of RM130,812.50 imposed against him by the George Town Sessions Court on May 18, 2018.

       Mohd Noor, who was the Management and Development Services Sector head at the Penang Education Department then, was accused to have used his position to obtain an inducement by approving an RM26,162.50 payment voucher dated Oct 17, 2013, to supply lab coats for schools in the state to Syarikat Nur Ehsan Maju Enterprise, which he has an interest in. He was charged under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009.

       Mohd Noor was also accused to have agreed to accept an RM24,656 Maybank cheque from an individual with whom he was aware that he has a relationship with his official work, at Maybank Jalan Penang Road Branch, Penang on Oct 24, 2013. He was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code.

       Deputy public prosecutors Mohd Zain Ibrahim and Mohd Fairuz Johari prosecuted while the appellant was represented by lawyer Ashok Athimulan.- Bernama