Kuala Lumpur, Oct 30 – Former Immigration director-general (DG) Datuk Wahid Md Don was sentenced to six years prison and fined RM300,000 by the Sessions Court here Wednesday, after he was found guilty of accepting a RM60,000 bribe to approve visas for Bangladesh workers.
Judge Rosbiahanin Arifin ordered Wahid, 59, to serve the sentence effective today and 12 months jail in default of the fine.
Wahid was then taken to the Kajang Prison after the judge dismissed the application for a stay of execution pending appeal by Wahid’s lawyer Datuk V. Sithambaran.
The judge also dismissed Sithambaran’s application to release his client on bail pending the appeal.
The lawyer informed the court that an appeal against the decision not to grant bail would be filed at the High Court today.
In her judgement, Rosbiahanin said the court concurred with the prosecution that Wahid’s defence was an afterthought and merely a fabricated denial.
Wahid was charged with accepting the bribe from businessman Datuk Seri Low Chang Hian as an inducement to speed up the approvals of 4,337 visa applications for Bangladesh workers in Malaysia.
He committed the offence in his house at Jalan Lembah Ledang, off Jalan Duta on July 10 2008.
On Oct 15 2010 Rosbiahanin had discharged and acquitted Wahid without calling for his defence on the same charge after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case and the High Court upheld the same on May 31 2012.
However, on April 2 2013, the Court of Appeal ordered Wahid to enter his defence on the charges after allowing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) appeal.
MACC Prosecution Division Chief Datuk Abdul Razak Musa conducted the prosecution.
– Bernama
