Officer detained in sex-passport case

Officer detained in sex-passport case

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has detained an immigration officer for allegedly demanding sex from a 23-year-old woman to expedite the extension of her passport, ACA officials said yesterday.

The 43-year-old man was arrested in a trap set by the ACA in a hotel room in the southern state of Malacca on Saturday, an ACA official told Reuters. The officer has since been released on 5,000 ringgit (US$2,000) bail pending further investigations.

The arrest followed a complaint lodged by the woman, who alleged that the officer wanted sexual favors to facilitate the extension of her passport for five years, the ACA official said.

Arrangements were made for the woman to meet the officer at a hotel on Saturday. ACA officers, who laid an ambush, arrested the man after he made reservations for a room late on Saturday.

The ACA official said the man faced a maximum fine of 10,000 ringgit ($4,200) or five years in jail, or both, if found guilty.