KUALA LUMPUR: A senior Sime Darby executive will only have to spend two years in jail, instead of 27 years, for five graft charges after the High Court allowed his appeal today.

In allowing Md Zaki Othman’s appeal against his sentence, Judicial Commissioner Ab Karim Ab Rahman said that although he had no reason to disturb the findings of the Sessions Court on Zaki’s conviction, he found the sentencing a deterrent.

“The appropriate sentence for each charge is two years and the sentences are to run concurrently.” His sentence will take effect from today (May 31).

Zaki, 54, Sime Darby’s general manager of operations, who was based in Pasir Gudang, Johor, was charged at the Johor Baru Sessions Court on Jan 3, 2011, with two counts of receiving RM33,600 in bribes in the form of furniture purchased from Europe Asia Furniture Expo Sdn Bhd, as well as accepting a Rolex watch worth RM21,700 from a contractor, which were inducements to approve and expedite payments for projects.

On Jan 13 in the same year, he was charged at the Sessions Court here with two counts of soliciting bribes in the form of IWC and Hublot watches worth RM32,980 and RM60,000 respectively, from a contractor between March 13 and 15, 2009.

The branded watches were inducements to secure a Letter of Award for the Kumang & Tangga Barat Cluster Development Project.

The Sessions Court had ordered that all the sentences run consecutively and fined him RM894,400, for all the five charges in 2012.

Zaki’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh, who appeared with S.C. Tey, immediately filed for a stay of execution, pending appeal to the Court of Appeal, which was allowed by Ab Karim. Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Bahrain, prosecuted.-nst