London holiday refund to ex-Perlis MB was improper, witness says

London holiday refund to ex-Perlis MB was improper, witness says

Published: Aug 23, 2024 11:32 PM


The former manager of Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd told the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today that it was improper for a refund of RM430,279.95, for the cancellation of Azlan Man’s family vacation, to be made directly to the former Perlis menteri besar.

The seventh prosecution witness, Mohammad Azri Ahmad, 49, acknowledged that it was odd the refund was returned to Azlan, because the Perlis state government paid for the vacation packages to London, United Kingdom, in 2016 and 2017.

“Speaking on behalf of the company (Aidil Travel & Tours), I aim to provide proper service, but it was unusual and wrong in my view to return money from the state government to an individual,” he said.

He was speaking during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat.

Earlier, while reading his witness statement, Azri explained Azlan (above) cancelled his vacation bookings to London in 2016 and 2017, amounting to RM253,195.40 and RM244,079.28 respectively, both of which had been paid for by the state government.

However, Azri noted that a refund cheque for the 2016 cancellation of RM222,811.95 was deposited into Azlan’s bank account.

“As for the 2017 vacation cancellation, Abdul Rahim Halim (former sales manager of Aidil Travel & Tours) and I personally handed the refund of RM207,468 to Azlan at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Today is the seventh day of the trial of Azlan, a former Bintong state assemblyperson, who faces 10 charges for submitting false claims and receiving proceeds from unlawful activities.

When Noralis enquired about the reason for Azlan’s cancellations, he explained that Abdul Rahim informed him Azlan faced time constraints and requested a refund of the vacation deposits.

Noralis: Why was the vacation refund returned to Azlan’s personal account?

Azri: Because no bookings, such as tickets, were made, we returned the money through Herwady Hashim (then-senior private secretary to the Perlis menteri besar) to Datuk Seri Azlan.

Responding to Noralis’ question on how he could remember the refund of the cancelled vacation booking, Azri replied, “I certainly remember because the company had never handled such a large amount before”.

Azlan’s charges

Azlan, 65, faces five counts of false claims for overseas vacation allowances amounting to over RM1.18 million, allegedly committed at the Perlis state secretary’s office, Kompleks Dewan Undangan Negeri, Persiaran Wawasan, Kangar, between December 2013 and December 2017.

The charges involve quotations for flight tickets to London and invoices from Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.

He is charged under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher upon conviction.

The trial before Judge Azura Alwi will resume on Nov 11.

- Bernama