Inspector, friend get 2 years' jail, fine for graft
By Jennifer Gomez
news@nst.com.my
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Vijayan Veeriah was found guilty of accepting RM3,000 from a shop tenant
Vijayan Veeriah, 31, was initially charged with three counts of corruption but his defence was called only on two charges.
He was alleged to have:
- agreed to accept RM3,000 from Ganeswaran Suppiah, a tenant of a shoplot, as an inducement not to take action against him for employing two Indian nationals who did not have valid work permits on Aug 20, 2004; and
- abetted his friend, Anthony Michael Joseph, to accept the RM3,000 bribe from Ganeswaran on Vijayan's behalf.
Anthony, 43, was also found guilty on charges of abetting Vijayan and accepting the RM3,000 from Ganeswaran.
Judge Abu Bakar Katar sentenced Vijayan and Anthony to two years' jail and RM15,000 fine on each count, the jail terms to run concurrently. He also ordered them to undergo another eight months' jail if they did not pay the fines.
In mitigation, counsel V. Aravindhakshan told the court that Vijayan had three younger siblings and a sickly mother to support.
"His career is destroyed with this guilty verdict. Please tamper justice with mercy," he said.
As for Anthony, Aravindhakshan said he had a wife and two sons aged 16 and 12 to support.
Deputy public prosecutor Fadzillah Mohd Osman pressed for a heavy sentence.
Aravindhakshan then applied for a stay of execution pending appeal.
Abu Bakar allowed the stay and did not impose additional bail. He told Aravindhakshan to file the appeal by this morning.
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