Isa Samad's acquittal appeal hearing deferred to Feb 5 next year

 

The hearing of the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal of former Felda chairperson Isa Abdul Samad on nine corruption charges has been rescheduled to Feb 5 next year at the Federal Court.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the new hearing date was set during the case management, conducted online, before deputy registrar Wan Fatimah Zaharah Wan Yussof today.

He told Bernama that the hearing was initially fixed for Dec 4, but the date was vacated as Isa, 75, was admitted to the hospital.

On March 6 last year, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously set aside the conviction as well as six years imprisonment and RM15.45 million fine imposed on Isa by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 3, 2021.

The prosecution filed a notice of appeal on March 7 this year seeking to set aside the Court of Appeal’s decision, and on June 26, a petition of appeal, advancing 24 grounds to support its contention that the Court of Appeal erred in law and fact when it acquitted Isa of all charges.

Isa was charged in 2018 with nine counts of dishonestly receiving RM3.09 million in bribes from Ikhwan Zaidel, then a director of Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd, via his former special officer, Zahid Arip.

The payment was purportedly made as an inducement for approving the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites in Kuching, Sarawak, by Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd for RM160 million.

The offence was committed on the 49th floor of Menara Felda, Platinum Park, No 11 Persiaran KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, between July 21, 2014 and Dec 11, 2015.

The charge, under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, and punishable under Section 24(1) of the same law, provides a jail term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of at least five times the bribe amount, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

- Bernama