BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Magistrates' Court of Brunei sentenced a contractor to 16 months in jail after he was found guilty of abetting a public servant in committing corruption, local media reported on Sunday.
According to the local daily Borneo Bulletin, the court handed down the sentence to Houng Yu Kai after the Brunei's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) found out that he had abetted Mohd Shah Nurul Ridzuan, an officer at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in obtaining 1,000 Brunei dollars (771.08 U.S. dollars) without adequate consideration in connection with his official duties.
Houng, owner of Ari Cando Contractor, was also acquitted of a separate corruption charge.
Section 165 of the Penal Code of Brunei law criminalizes public servants receiving gifts or payments without consideration from individuals they deal with in their official capacity.
The law also penalizes anyone who abets such offenses with fines or imprisonment for up to seven years. ■
