SHAH ALAM – A former employee of the Social Security Organisation (Socso) was today fined RM70,000 by the sessions court here, after pleading guilty to two charges of receiving RM38,000 in cash in return for approving a programme application under Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara 3.0 (Penjana 3.0).
Judge Datuk Anita Harun handed down the sentence on S. Dhinnesh, 30, and ordered him to be imprisoned for two years, if he failed to pay the fine.
According to the charges, Dhinnesh, an employment service officer with Socso at the time, received cash amounting to RM38,000 from a owner of a company through an individual in return for approving incentive applications under Penjana 3.0’s workers’ hiring incentive and training programme.
He committed the acts, in two respective restaurants in Dengkil and Cyberjaya, Sepang on April 6 and 15, 2022, under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of not more than two years or a fine or both.
Lawyer Kathan Maruthamuthu, representing Dhinnesh, asked for a lower sentence because it was his client’s first offence and Dhinnesh was remorseful and promises not to repeat it.
“The accused also quit working with Socso on September 1, 2023 and is now working as a grocery shop assistant earning an income of RM1,500 while his wife is a part-time investment agent,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin asked for an appropriate punishment to serve as a lesson to the accused and community, and asked that the remaining RM20,000 in bribe money that was seized, be forfeited to the government. – January 23, 2024