Someone who acted as a middle person took advantage of the tourist who was about to be deported.
MACC is hunting for an “agent” who allegedly tried to solicit bribes from a Chinese tourist stuck at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which led to a ruckus involving Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing last week.
According to sources close to the case, MACC officers recorded statements from Tiong and the tourist yesterday, where it was revealed to investigators that a man had asked for over RM15,000 to help the woman get through immigration checks.
The anti-graft agency believed that the agent could be someone from outside, who acted as a middle person to take advantage of the tourist who was about to be deported.
“Initial investigation into this case revealed that there was no breach of procedures by the Immigration Department officers at KLIA.
“The China national did not possess a return ticket, she did not have an itinerary for her stay here, and she also did not bring cash. So, there were valid grounds for the immigration to turn her away.
“However, what we are trying to find out is how this so-called agent got to know about this tourist’s case. That is one of the areas that investigators are focusing on,” said a highly placed source.
According to sources, the middle person had asked for payment for what he described as “administrative fees” through phone calls to a Malaysian woman, who was supposed to pick up the Chinese tourist from KLIA.
At first, a source said, the man only asked for RM3,000 to buy a return ticket for the visitor.
“But the agent had since made several more calls with demands for her to pay for ‘administrative fees’, with a total of over RM15,000, so that the tourist can be released.
“MACC is working to identify this middle person,” said a source.
It was learned that MACC had also recorded the local woman’s statement. Investigators are now looking for other witnesses and expect to summon more individuals for questioning.
However, a source added, investigators believe it may be hard for them to catch the agent since the incident has become a media circus.
They believed that Tiong should have engaged the agency first so that they could hatch a plan to nab the agent, who will then be able to assist in the investigation.
When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed that they are looking for a man who tried to solicit payment from the tourist and her Malaysian acquaintance.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 16A of the MACC Act but declined to elaborate further.
Last Thursday, BebasNews reported that a minister allegedly broke safety protocols and barged past immigration counters to “rescue” a tourist under detention.
Tiong admitted he was the one implicated in the report but said his “rescue” of the woman exposed corruption among officials in KLIA and that the Chinese national was not the first to receive such treatment when arriving in Malaysia.
He claimed some immigration officers would demand bribes of up to RM3,000 from detained tourists for them to be released and sent back to their home countries.
The minister then urged MACC to investigate the matter, adding that he would provide the necessary information to the graft buster. – Malaysiakini