KUALA LUMPUR: Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today withdrew his bid to recover his passport from the Sessions Court in order to perform the umrah or pilgrimage to Mecca.
Zahid said he had wanted to perform the umrah on Jan 17, but the court only set Jan 14 to hear his application.
Lawyer Kitson Foong, who represented Zahid, said this would not be enough time to apply for a visa as it takes about 10 days to process applications.
“So we decided to withdraw the passport bid,” he said, adding that judge Rozina Ayub had wanted the prosecution team to file a formal objection.
Foong said Zahid would file another application before April or by Ramadan, so that he could perform his religious duties at another time.
Zahid claimed trial in November to 45 charges related to criminal breach of trust, money laundering and corrupt practices.
The 10 CBT charges, with the highest amount involving RM17 million, came under Section 409 of the Penal Code, while eight other charges were under Section 16 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act for allegedly accepting bribes for various projects during his time as the home minister.
The remaining 27 charges were related to money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Last month, Zahid was slapped with an additional CBT charge, bringing the total number of charges against him to 46.
He had posted bail of RM2 million and surrendered his passport as part of his bail conditions.
His next case mention will take place on Feb 20. -FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.