New anti-corruption laws adopted in Brunei to tackle power abuse

Brunei's Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has adopted a new anti-corruption laws to address abuse of power and misconduct in public office, the Brunei Times reported on Wednesday.

The new laws will allow legal action to be taken against civil servants who fail to carry out their duties to a "high ethical standard", said the AGC in a statement.

Following extensive discussions between the AGC and the Anti- Corruption Bureau, several amendments have been made to the Prevention of Corruption Act.

New offences have been included in the legislation, criminalizing the use of public funds for private purposes, giving undue preferential treatment, misuse of information acquired during the course of duty and allowing private interests to come into conflict with public duties.

The legislation also states that any public officer who seeks to interfere or influence the "appointment, promotion, suspension, demotion or dismissal" of any other public official, can be prosecuted under the new laws.

Similarly, any civil servant who demonstrates "willful misconduct or neglect of duty" to a degree which amounts to abuse of public trust, is considered guilty of an offence. The punishment for all the new corruption offences is seven years' jail and a 30,000 Brunei dollars (about 20,951 U.S. dollars) fine.

The AGC added that offences can be committed without the receipt of gratification or monetary benefit.

The legal definition of "public body" has also been changed in the legislation, to include government-linked companies and statutory bodies, such as the Brunei Economic Development Board, Brunei Shell Joint Ventures, Royal Brunei airlines, among others. Endi