(Bloomberg) — A Malaysian journalist was charged in court for allegedly receiving a bribe in return for backing off an investigation into an alleged migrant worker trafficking syndicate.
B. Nantha Kumar, a reporter with local online news outlet Malaysiakini, was charged at the Sessions Court in Selangor state with receiving 20,000 ringgit ($4,500) in exchange for retracting and not uploading articles about a foreign workers cartel.
Kumar pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of at least 100,000 ringgit, five times the value of the alleged bribe.
Kumar’s case also comes amid increased concern about press freedom under the government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysia fell 34 places to 107th in a 2024 ranking by Reporters Without Borders.
The reporter was arrested by anti-graft officials last month for allegedly taking the bribe from an agent that deals in foreign workers. Kumar said in a March 7 statement that he had not solicited the bribe, but instead took an envelope, which he believed contained money, because he planned to surrender it to a senior immigration official as evidence of the agent’s wrongdoing.
“We continue to stand by our journalist who is innocent until proven otherwise in court,” said Malaysiakini Managing Editor Ng Ling Fong after the court proceedings.
The court set bail Kumar’s bail at 10,000 ringgit with one surety. He was ordered to surrender his passport and report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office once a month.
Malaysian press groups rallied in support of Kumar. The National Union of Journalists Malaysia urged the anti-graft agency on Monday not to harass or intimidate journalists.
“Press freedom must be upheld, and journalists must not be treated as criminals for exposing wrongdoing,” NUJM General Secretary Teh Athira Mohd Yusof said in the statement.
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