Contractors in Beaufort paid the bribes as part of a ‘contribution scheme’ run by Sabah water department officials.

Witness Suhaimi Asbullah testified that the contractors bribed Sabah water department officials to secure projects.

PETALING JAYA: A former Sabah water department employee told the Kota Kinabalu sessions court that contractors in the district of Beaufort paid officials nearly RM1 million a year in bribes to secure contracts.

Engineer Suhaimi Asbullah, who was based in Beaufort, said the contractors paid the bribes as part of a so-called “contribution scheme”.

Between RM800,000 and RM1 million in bribes were paid to secure between 40 and 50 jobs annually.

According to The Borneo Post, Suhaimi mentioned that the Beaufort division received up to 40% more allocations after the introduction of the “contribution scheme”.

He said that the contractors in the district did not object to the scheme as they benefitted from it.

“They would continue to receive projects without going through an open tender,” he told the corruption trial of the Sabah water department, presided over by judge Abu Bakar Manat.