“IF YOU DO THE CRIME, YOU DO THE TIME”

Judge raises Customs officer’s jail term from two weeks to four years

KOTA KINABALU August 18, 2011: The High Court here increased a Customs officer’s sentence for corruption from two weeks to four years, saying that “if you do the crime, you do the time”.

In his ruling, Justice Datuk David Wong Dak Wah said the country could not tolerate corruption that affected economic efficiency.

“In this day and age, we can ill afford economic inefficiency as we try to compete in a border­­less world.

“The court must also send a message to society that this country does not accept corruption as part of daily life,”

he said in setting aside the 14-day jail sentence imposed on Customs officer Rudy Arbi, 40.

Wong, however, maintained the RM45,000 fine imposed by Sessions Court judge Caroline Bee Majanil in Nov 9, 2007.

Majanil had ordered that Rudy be jailed for two weeks and fined RM45,000 after finding him guilty of three corruption charges.

Rudy was convicted of demanding RM5,000 from Liew Thien Sui as an inducement for not taking any action against Liew and Colin Voon, who were together ope­rating an electrical outlet suspected to be selling items imported from China and the peninsula without any invoices on April 6, 2005.

He was also convicted of receiving RM1,000 from Liew at Inanam town on April 8 the same year and another RM2,000 from Voon at a coffee shop in Kolombong three days later.