KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Marine Department director-general Capt Mohamad Halim Ahmed has gone on leave while standing trial for cheating, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.
Halim will not report for duty while his case is ongoing in court, the minister said, adding that he is still “innocent until proven guilty”.
However, civil service rules require him to go on leave, Loke was reported saying by media after he joined the Road Transport Department in inspecting tourists buses in Gombak, here, today.
On August 1, Halim, 57, was charged in the Shah Alam sessions court with cheating his predecessor, then Marine Department director-general Datuk Baharin Abdul Hamid by giving him a letter that falsely stated the transport minister’s decision to maintain the exemption period for shipping companies to bring “heavy grade oil” in Malaysian waters, when no such approval had been given.
Halim allegedly committed the offence in October 2020, which led to Baharin being deceived into issuing exemption letters to the companies concerned. – August 6, 2024