Ex-editorial assistant manager’s sentence reduced to 20-month jail term after bribery conviction upheld

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PUTRAJAYA: A former assistant manager in The Star’s editorial department began serving a 20-month prison term today after the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction for accepting a RM20,000 bribe eight years ago.

A three-judge panel, comprising Justices Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, dismissed M. Youganesparan’s appeal against his conviction but reduced his sentence from 30 months to 20 months.

The court also maintained the RM100,000 fine that was imposed by the Sessions Court, and which he had settled.

Youganesparan, 62, was granted bail of RM50,000 with one surety pending the outcome of his appeal.

Justice Azmi, delivering the court’s decision, stated that Youganesparan’s conviction was sound and that his appeal lacked merit.

He said Youganesparan’s defense of denying that the money was a bribe and asserting it was part of a business transaction amounted to a bare denial.

He also dismissed the contention of the defence that Youganesparan did not get a fair trial due to being represented by incompetent counsel at the Sessions Court.

On December 17, 2018, the Sessions Court sentenced Youganesparan to 30 months in prison and fined him RM100,000, in default 18 months imprisonment.

He was found guilty of accepting RM20,000 from Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah as an inducement for a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer to close a case against him (Mohd Emir).

The offence was committed at Dome Cafe, Vista Power, The Intermark, Jalan Tun Razak, here at 9.15 pm on May 30, 2017.

Subsequently, Youganesparan lost his appeal at the High Court in February 2021.

During today’s proceedings, MACC deputy public prosecutors, Natrah Fareha Rahmat, Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir and Siti Amirah Muhammad Ali, appeared for the prosecution, while Youganesparan was represented by a team of lawyers led by M.Manoharan. – BERNAMA

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