Kedah MB's former aide charged with graft over REE mining project

The Star

A former political secretary to the Kedah Mentri Besar has been charged with soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with a rare earth element (REE) mining project in the state.  Mohamad Hilmi Abdul Wahab, 50, pleaded not guilty to both charges which were read out before Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Suzana Hussin on Monday (Nov 20).  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y8a2zpjx  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 A former political secretary to the Qaeda mentri Besar was charged at the Kuala Lumpur

00:08 Sessions Court on Monday with soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with a rare

00:13 earth element REE mining project in the state.

00:17 Muhammad Hilmi Abdul Wahab pleaded not guilty to both charges which were read out before

00:23 Judge Susana Hussein.

00:25 On the first charge, the 50-year-old was alleged to have solicited a cash bribe amounting

00:30 to 250,000 ringgit from REE Mining Group Director Liana Mamat alias Khalid through one Syed

00:39 Muhammad Syed Aluvi.

00:41 It was allegedly an inducement for Muhammad Hilmi, then the political secretary to Mentri

00:47 Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Matnur to help the company get its REE mining and exploration

00:54 license application approved.

00:56 The offense was allegedly committed at a premises in Sunway Kiara Hills on July 4.

01:03 He was also accused of receiving 150,000 ringgit from Liana for the same purpose at a restaurant

01:09 in Sriharthamas village on July 11.

01:12 Both charges were framed under Section 16A, Subsection A of the MACC Act 2009.

01:20 Muhammad Hilmi faces up to 20 years in jail and a fine not less than five times the amount

01:26 or value of the bribe or 10,000 ringgit whichever is higher if convicted.

01:32 The court allowed bail at 45,000 ringgit with one surety for both charges and fixed, January

01:39 12 for next mention.

01:41 The accused was ordered to surrender his passport to the court and to report to the KEDA MACC

01:47 headquarters once a month.

01:49 Muhammad Hilmi was also ordered not to intimidate witnesses until the end of the case.

01:54 The court ordered him to be released on bail on January 12, 2009.

01:59 [End of Audio]

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