Freelance Photographer Pleads Not Guilty To Accepting Bribes To Secure "Datuk Seri" Title For Businessman

MELAKA, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- A freelance photographer pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to three charges of accepting bribes and one charge of forging documents in connection with a promise to secure a “Datuk Seri” title for a businessman.

Nurfateha Othman, 44, is charged with three counts of accepting bribes totalling RM36,824.50, and one count of forging documents related to the Melaka Investiture ceremony about three years ago.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), in a statement today, said the charges were read out to her at the Melaka General Hospital after the court allowed the proceedings to be held there, as the woman is currently receiving treatment and admitted to a ward.

“According to the charges, she is alleged to have accepted bribe money from a businessman as an inducement to secure a Datuk Seri title, despite having no authority to grant such an award,” read the statement.

On the charge, Nurfateha is alleged to have received bribes amounting to RM25,559.50 between Nov 23, 2022 and Nov 23, 2023, through online transactions from the bank account of a company belonging to the businessman’s wife.

On the second charge, she is alleged to have received bribe money amounting to RM2,440 between Dec 13, 2022 and  June 1, 2023, through online transactions from the bank account of the businessman's wife, and on the third count, she is alleged to have received bribe money amounting to RM8,825 between Dec 28, 2022 and  Nov 2, 2023 through online transactions from the same bank account.

 All the acts were allegedly committed at a bank in Melaka.

The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009,  which provides a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Nurfateha also faces a charge under Section 468 of the Penal Code for allegedly providing a false document, namely a Letter of Award for the Melaka State Award 2023, when no actual award was made, to the businessman in September 2023.

She faces a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine if found guilty of the charge.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharina Farhana Nor Sa'ari,  while Nurfateha was unrepresented.

According to the  MACC, Judge Elesabet Paya Wan ordered the accused to be sent to the Psychiatric Hospital for observation purposes and to obtain a written certificate on the accused's condition.

"The accused was not offered bail, and the court set Feb 23, 2026, for mention of the case," according to the statement.

-- BERNAMA