KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness told the sessions court here today he obtained details about Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd from former Perlis menteri besar Azlan Man, who is standing trial on 10 charges of submitting false claims and receiving proceeds from illicit activities.
Herwadey Hashim, the former senior private secretary to Azlan, said Azlan provided him with the telephone number of the company’s owner, Shafie Ismail, to arrange his overseas travel.
During cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat, he also said it was standard procedure for the menteri besar’s overseas leave applications to be submitted in writing to the state secretary’s management services division, as practised by previous officeholders.
Noralis: You agreed with the defence counsel that the approval of the local order and the payment to the travel company were lawful. What do you mean by lawful?
Herwadey: The payment from the state secretary to the supplier was lawful because all the documents were in order and proper procedures were followed.
Herwadey agreed with Azlan’s counsel, Ramli Shariff, that he had managed all of Azlan’s overseas leave claims from 2013 to 2017, from drafting the memorandum to disbursing the funds.
He also agreed that his actions in arranging the overseas travel were lawful and did not breach any regulations.
Azlan, 67, faces five charges of submitting false claims for overseas holidays amounting to more than RM1.18 million. The offences were allegedly committed at the Perlis state secretary’s office between December 2013 and December 2017.
The claims involved quotations for flight tickets to London and invoices from Sri Kedawang, and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
He is charged under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of five times the value of the false claim, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Azlan faces five additional charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM1.06 million under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
The offences were allegedly committed between Feb 19, 2014, and December 2017 at a Maybank branch on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a CIMB branch in Putrajaya, and the Sheraton Imperial Hotel.
He faces five alternative charges of criminal breach of trust under Section 403 of the Penal Code for allegedly misappropriating RM1.06 million in Perlis state funds. The offence carries a penalty of six months to five years’ imprisonment and may also include caning and a fine.
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi will resume on March 31.
