Company director, senior Sabah land officer claim trial to RM18,000 graft charges

KOTA KINABALU: A company executive director and a senior officer with the Sabah Lands and Surveys Department claimed trial at the Special Corruption Court here on Monday (Sept 28) to six charges involving alleged bribes totalling RM18,000 linked to gold mining operations.

Chong Tzu Khen, 69, executive director of Wullersdorf Resources Sdn Bhd (WRSB), faces three charges under Section 17(b) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

According to the charges, Chong allegedly gave cash loans of RM10,000, RM3,000 and RM5,000 to Robert Robin Millip as inducements to facilitate WRSB’s gold mining operations.

The alleged offences took place in April and October 2024, and October 2025, at a restaurant in Taman Fortuna and a coffee shop in Kota Kinabalu.

Robert, 60, a contract chief assistant director of the department’s Mining Division, faces three corresponding charges under Section 17(a) of the same Act for allegedly receiving the payments.

Both men pleaded not guilty before Judge Andi Razalijaya A Dadi.

The court granted each accused bail of RM8,000 with two local sureties and fixed Oct 27 for case management.

They were also ordered to report to the nearest MACC office once a month, surrender their passports to the court and refrain from approaching prosecution witnesses.

The prosecution was conducted by MACC prosecuting officer Norsham Saharom, while Datuk Ram Singh represented both accused.

If convicted, the offences are punishable under Section 24(1) of the MACC Act with imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of at least five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.