Senior cop claims trial to charge of failing to declare assets

KUALA LUMPUR: A senior police officer has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to two charges of failing to comply with an asset declaration notice involving 716.8g of digital gold and RM80,000 in cryptocurrency, among others.

DSP Mohd Shahril Abu Bakar, 41, was charged with two counts of neglecting a written notice under Section 36(1)(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, served on March 30, 2024.

He allegedly provided a sworn written statement where he failed to identify the source of the acquired assets, as well as how it was obtained.

The assets involved funds deposited into two bank accounts belonging to Tahara Services, where the accused has a vested interest.

He further failed to state the source of the digital gold stored on Public Gold, RM80,000 in cryptocurrency invested through Luno and RM39,198.48 invested in his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account.

The charges also involve RM110,000 invested in ASB accounts under his children’s names, and RM68,000 paid into an Affin Islamic Bank Berhad housing loan for a property in Johor Baru.

He was charged under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act, which provides for imprisonment of up to five years, a fine not exceeding RM100,000, or both, upon conviction.

Judge Rosli Ahmad set the next case mention for Oct 29, and granted the accused bail of RM15,000 for both charges, with additional conditions of surrendering his passport and reporting monthly to the MACC office until the disposal of the case. – Bernama