A THIRD Secretary at the Brunei Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia was questioned yesterday in an ongoing trial in the Bandar Magistrate’s Court on 20 counts of corruption.

Hj Yakib bin Hj Jumat is alleged to have received corruption money from Indonesian employment agents in return for issuing visa applications to the agents for would-be workers bound for Brunei.

Hj Yakib was the officer-in-charge at the embassy to issue these visa applications at the time in question, just over three years ago.

During the trial yesterday, the prosecution alleged that Hj Yakib received corruption money from a Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (TKI) agent named Hj Asroh on December 6, 2006 for assisting in the issuance of employment visas and passports for his workers.

When asked to recall what had happened on December 6, 2006 between the defendant and Hj Asroh, the defendant stated that he walked into the guest room at the Brunei Embassy where Hj Asroh had been waiting for him, and that he handed the defendant an envelope.

“I asked him ‘What is this?’ and he replied ‘It’s nothing, just accept it. It’s because you’ve helped me a lot,” the defendant stated.

When asked how long the meeting took, the defendant answered that it did not take longer than five minutes.
The prosecution also asked the defendant why he did not open the envelope until the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Officers asked him to, in which the defendant replied that he was busy that day and had a lot of work to finish signing passports that were to be issued out that day.

The prosecution then pressed on repeatedly that the reason that the defendant did not open envelopes that he already knew what was inside envelopes and that he was already used to receiving the envelope containing the corruption money.

The defendant denied the allegations.

The defendant is holding on to his claim that the whole issue was an entrapment by the ACB.

DPP Hjh Anifa Hj Abd Ghani represents the prosecution, while Sheikh Noordin represents the defence.

The case is being heard in front of Chief Magistrate Dk Rostaina Pg Hj Duraman.

The trial has been adjourned and will continue on January 11, 2010.

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