Former Army Chief And His Wives Among Five Arrested By MACC

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has detained the former Malaysian Army chief, his two wives, and two other individuals as part of its probe into alleged corruption in procurement tenders.

The former Army Chief and his two wives were arrested at around 7 pm after presenting themselves to give statements at the MACC headquarters. Their arrests follow the detention of another married couple yesterday, who are also connected to the case. 

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed the arrests to Bernama, saying that all five individuals are being held to assist with the corruption probe into the Malaysian Army tenders.

“We expect to apply for remand orders for the former army chief and his two wives tomorrow. The couple detained yesterday have already been remanded for seven days,” said Azam. 

The arrests follow an earlier directive from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who announced that the Army Chief had been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Lt Gen Datuk Azhan Md Othman, Chief of Staff at the Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters, was subsequently appointed as the 31st Malaysian Army Chief, effective Jan 1. His appointment follows a widening investigation into military procurement.

On Dec 23, MACC expanded the investigation to the Ministry of Defence itself, reviewing projects awarded through open tenders and managed by the Army Responsibility Centre. 

Yesterday, the investigation escalated as MACC obtained a five-day remand order for 17 company directors suspected of being involved in a cartel for army procurement tenders.

-- BERNAMA