M Saravanan pleads not guilty to RM1.097 million bribery charges

Former Malaysian Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan has pleaded not guilty to three charges of receiving bribes totaling RM1.097 million. The charges, brought before Judge Azura Alwi at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, relate to the approval of 1,000 foreign worker quotas for TYKB Engineering Sdn Bhd in 2022.

According to the prosecution, the bribes were received in three installments between June and July 2022 from Tan Teck Lim, a director of Vectica Resources Sdn Bhd, through an intermediary named Syed Amirul Syed Ahmad. The payments allegedly included two cash sums of RM150,000 and RM350,000, as well as a RM597,000 bank cheque deposited into an account belonging to Big Seven Ventures Sdn Bhd.

Saravanan, who is also the Deputy President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), maintained his innocence and requested a trial. He was granted bail of RM450,000. The charges were filed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of at least five times the value of the bribes or RM10,000, whichever is higher.