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GEORGE TOWN: A Syariah Court chief judge has become the first person to receive an award from the state government for exposing RM500,000 misappropriation of bail money at the Penang Syariah Court.

Yusof Musa, 52, was presented with RM10,000, a souvenir and certificate under the “i” (Integrity) reward scheme from Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Lim said the Yusof had managed to detect fraudulent withdrawals from a fixed deposit account and prevented further misappropriation from taking place.

“The misappropriation occurred because the officer who prepared the voucher was suspected to have known the ID of another officer who was responsible for checking and the IDs of other officers who were responsible for approving.

“It occurred because the officers in-charge for checking and approving had placed too much trust on the officer by approving the documents without examining them,” he said in his speech at the monthly gathering of civil servants in Dewan Tunku here Wednesday.

Lim said Yusof, while browsing through some documents, detected the irregularity and immediately reported it to the state secretariat in February.

“A police report was lodged immediately and the suspected officer went missing.

“I urge the officer to surrender as he cannot hide forever,” he said, adding the state government was leaving it to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the case.

Lim said the state government was looking into the possibility of giving more rewards for “whistle-blowers.”

Asked if announcing the winner would put them into trouble, Lim said if everyone was afraid, no one would be able to expose corruption.

“Some people may view those who expose corruption as problem-makers but the state government see them as a problem-solvers,” he said.

Lim said he hoped to give more of the “i” Rewards this year.

“But, we hope to see a reduction of recipients by next year as it will mean that we have managed to reduced corruption,” he said.

Yusof, 52, said he was grateful for the state government’s recognition and pledged to continue to do his best.

He declined to elaborate as the case was being investigated by the MACC.

In April, The Star had reported that a clerk at the syariah court was believed to have fled the state after illegally withdrawing more than RM500,000 in bail money for over two years.

Early this month, Lim announced the RM10,000 reward for civil servants who reveal wrongdoings and graft within government departments in its bid to achieve zero corruption.