00:00 A former political secretary to the Qaeda mentri Besar was charged at the Kuala Lumpur
00:08 Sessions Court on Monday with soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with a rare
00:13 earth element REE mining project in the state.
00:17 Muhammad Hilmi Abdul Wahab pleaded not guilty to both charges which were read out before
00:23 Judge Susana Hussein.
00:25 On the first charge, the 50-year-old was alleged to have solicited a cash bribe amounting
00:30 to 250,000 ringgit from REE Mining Group Director Liana Mamat alias Khalid through one Syed
00:39 Muhammad Syed Aluvi.
00:41 It was allegedly an inducement for Muhammad Hilmi, then the political secretary to Mentri
00:47 Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Matnur to help the company get its REE mining and exploration
00:54 license application approved.
00:56 The offense was allegedly committed at a premises in Sunway Kiara Hills on July 4.
01:03 He was also accused of receiving 150,000 ringgit from Liana for the same purpose at a restaurant
01:09 in Sriharthamas village on July 11.
01:12 Both charges were framed under Section 16A, Subsection A of the MACC Act 2009.
01:20 Muhammad Hilmi faces up to 20 years in jail and a fine not less than five times the amount
01:26 or value of the bribe or 10,000 ringgit whichever is higher if convicted.
01:32 The court allowed bail at 45,000 ringgit with one surety for both charges and fixed, January
01:39 12 for next mention.
01:41 The accused was ordered to surrender his passport to the court and to report to the KEDA MACC
01:47 headquarters once a month.
01:49 Muhammad Hilmi was also ordered not to intimidate witnesses until the end of the case.
01:54 The court ordered him to be released on bail on January 12, 2009.
01:59 [End of Audio]
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