THE final day of hearing in the trial of a former Bruneian diplomat to Indonesia took place at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The defendant, Hj Yakib Hj Jumat, maintained that he never solicited nor received corrupt monies from any employment agents in Jakarta.
He claimed that the charges against him were a fabrication and he was set up by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), who were in collusion with two Indonesian employment agents.
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).
During the course of the trial, the prosecution alleged that the defendant took bribes from the employment agents as a way to pay off his credit card debt.
Hj Yakib denied this and said that he did not need extra income to service his debt because in addition to his salary, he received a living allowance from the embassy.
He further stated that Jakarta was one of the least expensive cities to live in and that his life there was very comfortable.
A second allegation made by the prosecution was that the defendant took bribes as a way to finance his extravagant lifestyle, which included weekly golf trips.
Hj Yakib disagreed, stating that: “I only played golf once a week if I didn’t have any work to do. In Jakarta, it only costs $50 to $60 for each golf outing.”
The prosecution further alleged that the defendant needed money to send to his eldest son who is studying in Australia.
“As for my son, he receives scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He receives an allowance from them. I only send him money occasionally, depending if there was a real need,” he said.
“So is there any truth to any of the allegations provided by the prosecution?” asked defence counsel, Sheik Noordin.
“No, not at all,” responded Hj Yakib.
During reexamination, the defendant stated that the sting operation conducted by ACB in Jakarta on December 6, 2006 was a clear case of entrapment.
Hj Yakib said that he met with two freelance employment agents, Hj Asroh Sukaeni and Zetira Anas Nazar, on the morning of the ACB operation. He said that he received an envelope from each of them but did not open them immediately.
“When you took the envelope from Hj Asroh did you suspect what the contents of the envelope were?” asked Sheik Noordin.
“No, I did not think of what the contents were,” Hj Yakib said.
“Did it ever cross your mind that it could be money?”
“No,” the defendant replied.
Hj Yakib was then detained by ACB officers and he claimed that he was “forced” to make some admissions of guilt during the interrogation.
Hj Yakib further stated that he was denied access to a lawyer before he made his statement.
When asked why he thought it was a set up, the defendant replied that the ACB officers were already in Jakarta by December 1, coordinating with the Indonesian authorities and the employment agents before the sting took place.
“They (ACB) prepared a ‘trap money list’ and I was asked to compare the serial numbers of the money in the envelope with the serial numbers on the list,” said Hj Yakib.
The defendant is now refuting the admissions made on December 6 and claims that a subsequent statement he gave to the ACB on July 10, 2007 in Brunei, was in fact the correct one.
In the later statement, Hj Yakib denied all the charges made against him.
Hj Yakib is expected to address the court today to make a final statement in his defence.
If found guilty, he faces a fine of up to $30,000 and seven years of imprisonment for each charge.
The Brunei Times
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