PRESENT POINT POWER

ABOVE: The face of Baharudin Ahmad, a crude and indiscrete man who thrown his weight around immediatelyly after being appointed the Kangar Council President.

True to Lord's Acton words: "Power corrupts and absolutely power corrupts absolutely"
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Ex-Kangar Council Chief Jailed Four Years, Fined RM405,000 For Graft; November 29, 2006 18:46 PM

KANGAR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Former president of the Kangar Municipal Council, Baharudin Ahmad, was today sentenced to four years' jail and fined RM405,000 after the Sessions Court found him guilty on four counts of corruption involving RM387,500 in 1999. After Judge Rosilah Yop handed down the sentence, Baharudin, 48, who was represented by counsel M. Kirubanandan in place of Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the High Court. However, the judge dismissed the application following an objection by the prosecution, and said that Baharudin would have to serve the jail term from today. Deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Hanafiah Zakaria, who suggested a heavy penalty on Baharudin, said he was the one responsible for causing the council building to be sealed on Aug 15.

ABOVE: Being led to court and handcuffed (BELOW)

ABOVE: Entering the court's lock-up before being transfered to prision to serve the sentence immediately as the court has disallowed his application for a stay of ecxecution

"The prosecution requests the court to consider a heavy penalty on the accused because the offences were committed when he had just assumed the post of Kangar council president and the evidence of witnesses showed that he had used his position to get some benefits.

"As a result of this, the council was sued by the complainant in this case, to the extent that it caused the council building to be sealed and, perhaps, its movable assets would be auctioned," he said. The building that houses the council office was sealed after the local authority failed to pay damages totalling RM6,350,774.77 to Sonati Development Corporation Sdn Bhd as ordered by the High Court for terminating a contract. Two weeks after the building was sealed, the council obtained an interim stay of the High Court order pending an appeal with the Federal Court. Records showed that the council had appointed Sonati Development on June 14, 1999 to manage the construction of houses and shophouses on its land in Mukim Titi Tinggi, Padang Besar. On April 14, 2000, however, the council terminated the contract with Sonati Development, causing the company to institute civil proceedings in the High Court against the local authority. Judge Datuk Hasan Che Lah, who heard the suit, held that the contract had been wrongly terminated.

In today's proceedings, Mohamed Hanafiah said the offences committed by Baharudin were serious and he referred to the recent Corruption Perceptions Index issued by Transparency International which showed that

Malaysia

had slipped in its ranking from the 39th position to 44th. The government was concerned over the increase in corruption cases, he said. Evidence by witnesses showed that Baharudin had received bribes totalling RM85,000 and returned only RM30,000 after he knew that an investigation was taking place, said Mohamed Hanafiah who was assisted by Ishak Mohd Yusoff. Baharudin who was brought to the court on Feb 9, 2004, had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was freed on RM25,000 bail with one surety pending trial. He faced three charges under Section 10(a)(bb) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 and one under Section 165 of the Penal Code. The charges were later amended before the trial began. The trial saw 16 prosecution and four defence witnesses. Under the first charge, Baharudin was alleged to have solicited a RM300,000 bribe from contractor Nik Mokhtar Nik Hassan to approve and help ensure smooth implementation of the mixed housing development