SEREMBAN: A 38-year-old Road Transport Department (JPJ) officer was jailed 14 days and fined RM17,500 after he pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court here on Wednesday (April 6) to a charge of soliciting a RM3,500 bribe from a company owner.

       Judge Rushan Lutfi Mohamed also ordered Mohd Najmi Zakaria to serve another three months in jail if he was unable to pay the fine.

       Mohd Najmi, who was a vehicle inspector with the department, was charged with soliciting the bribe from one Cheok Cze Wei, who was the owner of Lukut Agency between Feb 13, 2018, and May 31, 2019.

       The bribe was an inducement to prevent action from being taken against the company as eight vehicles belonging to it were in violation of provisions under Section 61(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

       Mohd Najmi was charged under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009, read together with Section 24(1) of the same legislation.

       Offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years and slapped with a fine of RM10,000 or five times the value of the bribe, whichever is higher.

       Mohd Najmi was also slapped with a second charge of soliciting RM200 for the same purpose from Cheok on March 8, 2019. He claimed trial to the charge.

       However, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Azriff Firdaus Mohamad Ali told the court that the prosecution was prepared to drop the second charge if the accused pleaded guilty to the first one.

       In mitigation, defence counsel Asmawi Ismail appealed to the court for a lenient sentence as the accused was a first-time offender and had served the government for 14 years.

       "The accused also has to provide for his homemaker wife and two school-going children.

       "He also looks after his parents and his father recently underwent heart surgery and is recuperating," he said, adding that the accused also has to pay his housing and car instalments.

       Asmawi said the fact that the accused would lose his job was already a severe enough punishment.

       "The accused is also remorseful and has promised to never again commit a similar offence," he said.

       Mohamad Azriff Firdaus urged the court to impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.