KUALA LUMPUR: Former Intelligence Division director-general Lieutenant General (retired) Datuk Sheikh Mokhsin Sheikh Hassan was fined RM70,000 by the Sessions Court today after he pleaded guilty to receiving a service and cash of RM50,000, last year.

The monies were received from a director of a company supplying defence intelligence equipment.

The sentence was handed down by judge Suzana Hussin after the accused changed his plea to guilty when the case came up for mention today.

On the first count, the 60-year old accused had as a government agent received a service worth RM10,000 without anything in return from Syed Omar Syed Mohamad, knowing that the latter who is the director of the company had connections with his official duties.

The offence was committed in a hotel room in Langkawi, Kedah between June 21 and June 23, 2020.

The accused was also charged with receiving RM50,000 in cash without anything in return from the same person at the office of the director-general of the Defence Intelligence, Staff Division, Ministry of Defence in Jalan Padang Tembak, here, at about 2.30pm on June 26, the same year.

The charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code carries a maximum two years imprisonment or a fine or both, upon conviction.

In pleading for leniency, Sheikh Mokhsin's counsel Datuk Mohd Shahrom Mohamad had asked for the court to consider his client's contributions to the country which included his involvements in the United Nations peace keeping operations and the peacekeeping mission in Mindanao, Philippines as the Head of the International Monitoring Team (MIT), among others.

He said his client was put into early retirement following his arrest and investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

"He is remorseful and accountable for his wrongdoings and since his case came up, he was subject to ridicule by his colleagues and relatives.

"At the age of 60, he just wants to go on with his life," the lawyer said.

Mohd Shahrom pleaded for a minimum fine to be imposed on his client without a custodial sentence saying that his client, a father of four who is suffering from a heart disease, is the main breadwinner of his family.

Meanwhile deputy public prosecutor Siti Noor Hafizan Zakaria urged for a deterrent sentence to be imposed on the accused considering the seriousness of the offence.

"We ask the court to take a judicial notice that corruption is constantly happening among the society and this can be seen through the local media reports.

"A strong message must be sent to the public that the offence of corruption is serious," she said.

The court then fined Sheikh Mokhsin RM55,000 for the first charge and RM15,000 for the second charge and ordered the accused to serve a total of nine months jail if he fails to pay the fines.

According to the facts of the case, Sheikh Mokhsin was accused with accepting the service while he was on an official visit in Langkawi for Ops Benteng, a special operation under the National Task Force, led by the Malaysian Armed Forces, the police and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) aimed at beefing up border control to prevent entry of illegal immigrants, curbing cross-border crime and preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Meanwhile the monies were received by the accused from Syed Omar for the supply of drones from the latter's company.

Sheikh Mokhsin initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in October and November, last year.

Source : NST