A FORMER Brunei diplomat on trial at the Magistrates Court yesterday denied allegations that he introduced a list of selected Indonesian employment agencies (PTs) with which the Brunei Embassy in Jakarta would accept applications for work visas.
Hj Yakib Hj Jumat is facing 10 charges under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 131 and 10 more under Section 165 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22.
He was arrested by officers from Brunei’s Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly corruptly obtaining money from Indonesian employment agents in return for issuing hundreds of work visas.
According to Hj Yakib’s statement, recorded by Special Investigator Morshidi Hj Metussin at Hj Yakib’s embassy office on December 6, 2008, the regulation was to limit the number of applications for work visas.
During questioning at the court, the prosecution yesterday referred to document showing that Hj Yakib instituted a regulation on November 24, 2004 that stated only four companies (PTs) be allowed to enter the embassy to file work permit applications.
The former diplomat said in his statement that he introduced the regulation to avoid congestion of the embassy’s consular section.
The prosecution asked the former diplomat why he had notified the ambassador of the new regulation only verbally, as the authorities found no memos or minutes regarding the change during their investigations at his office in Indonesia.
“This was not a policy matter, it was only to make it (visa applications) systematic and in order at the consular section,” replied Hj Yakib.
“I informed his excellency that the consular section issued a new rule, which included a list of PTs to deal with the application of visas. He took note of this and informed me if that is a suitable matter that will assist at the consular section he had no objection to the rule,” he said.
The defendant also told the court that the regulation was introduced to reduce the number of issues the consular section was dealing with that did not relate to them, and for “security and safety reasons at the embassy”.
Hj Yakib denied allegations that the regulation was created so that he could selectively choose the companies he wanted to deal with.
However, the prosecution then read to the court a phone log detailing calls made allegedly between the defendant and Indonesian employment agents on the 1st, 3rd and 29th of September, 2006.
The dates of the calls were marked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officers.
The prosecution told the court that Indonesian employment agents have given evidence to the court claiming that the defendant had contacted them to ask for the bribe money early in the month or at the end of the month.
Hj Yakib denied these claims, adding that he did not recall the dates of the calls.
Hj Yakib told the court that calls were made to several Indonesian employment agents only if the work visas were not completed by his clerk and that he had taken the application over to resolve the problem.
“If the matters were not completed by my clerk only then I would call to ask what really happened. I could not recall how many times I called,” Hj Yakib said, adding that the phone calls or other correspondence would be initiated if the work visa problem had not been “resolved”.
“I put it to you the fact of the matter is you are quite close with the Indonesian employment agents, because you sometimes ask the assistance to look for maids and other workers,” said the prosecution.
The former diplomat denied the allegation, and told the court that if his clerk could not complete processing a work visa application, he would look into the matter himself and calls the Indonesian employment agents himself.
The trial continues December 12.
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