After being slapped with seven graft charges yesterday, former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was today hauled before the Sessions Court in Shah Alam to face 33 charges linked to receiving RM42.7 million in bribes from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd.
The former home minister claimed trial to the charges read out to him before judge Rozillah Salleh this morning.
Seen in attendance in the public gallery were the Umno president's party colleagues, among them supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam.
Zahid allegedly received the bribes from the company at his house in Country Heights, Kajang, between October 2014 and July 2017.
In 26 of the charges under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, Zahid is accused of receiving the money from Ultra Kirana as an inducement for him to extend the company's contract with the Home Ministry to run the One Stop Centre (OSC) in China and the Visa Jalanan (VLN) system.
If found guilty under Section 24(1) of the act, Zahid could be jailed up to 20 years, and fined not less than five times the value of the gratification involved in the offence, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
He also claimed trial to seven charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which makes it an offence for a public servant to accept, obtain, or agreeing to obtain, any valuable thing without or for inadequate consideration, from a person who is concerned with the official functions of the said public servant.
The provision states that such an offence is punishable with imprisonment up to two years, a fine, or both, on conviction.
The interpreter took over half an hour from 9.15am to read out the charges in Bahasa Malaysia to Zahid who, each time, calmly replied he understood and claimed trial to each count.
The judge set bail at RM500,000 with one Malaysian surety, and set July 29 for mention of the case.
At 9.25am, Zahid’s lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh asked Rozilah whether his client could sit down as there are still many charges to be read out by the interpreter.
At that point, the interpreter has only managed to read out the first ten graft charges.
Rozilah then allowed the application, to which Zahid then gingerly sat down in the dock while the interpreter continued to read out the remaining charges.
When all charges were read out at 9.48am, DPP Mohd Mukhzany Fariz Mohd Mokhtar applied for bail be set at RM1 million with one Malaysian surety due to the alleged offences involving RM42.7 million.
“In proposing the bail, (the court needs to) take into account that it (33 charges) involve RM42.7 million, which is a large amount. He (Zahid) is also a (well-known political) personality,” he said.
The DPP also proposed that the court adopts the existing bail term of Zahid having surrendered his passport to the court.
In one of his previous cases at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Zahid had surrendered his passport as part of the bail terms.
However, Zahid’s counsel Kitson Foong objected to the RM1 million bail, countering that bail is merely meant to ensure the accused’s attendance in court proceedings and not to punish him before the court had even made a ruling on his guilt or innocence.
“Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that bail should be sufficient to ensure his (Zahid’s) attendance (of court proceedings).
“(The factor of) Personality has nothing to do (with bail consideration), everyone is entitled (for equal treatment) before the law.
“The prosecution said the amount (RM42.7 million) is large and need to be taken into account. But we say that bail cannot be used as punishment as the trial has not even started,” Foong said.
The lawyer reiterated that Zahid is not a flight risk as the accused had continuously cooperated with the authorities in their investigation, and had even come today to Shah Alam Sessions Court on his (Zahid’s) own accord.
Foong told the court that even in other high profile cases involving (former prime minister) Najib Abdul Razak and (his wife) Rosmah Mansor, the bail for subsequent batches of charges always had a smaller bail amount compared to the first, because the duo's attendance in court is already secured by the terms of the bail for the first charges.
“We counter-propose that RM500,000 be sufficient bail for today’s 33 charges, taking into account that yesterday’s RM200,000 bail (for Zahid’s seven graft charges read to him before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court),” he said.
Rozilah then reminded all parties that the purpose of bail is merely to ensure the accused’s attendance and not to act as punishment.
She then asked Zahid’s bailor, Sheikh Rozi, whether he is willing to undertake the responsibility of ensuring that the accused attend court proceedings, failing which a warrant of arrest may be issued against the accused and a show cause letter may be issued against the bailor on why the bail money should not be seized, in the event that Zahid misses a proceeding.
When the bailor indicated his understanding of the bail condition, Rozilah set bail at RM500,000 with one Malaysian surety.
She was also informed by Foong that it was understood that the prosecution would be applying later to have all of Zahid’s existing cases be jointly tied, although the final court venue for joint-trial has not been finalised pending discussion between the prosecution and the defence.
Rozilah then fixed July 29 for mention.
Assisting Mukhzany was DPP Zander Lim Wai Keng, while the rest of Zahid’s defence team is also comprises Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Mohd Shahril Madisq. - Mkini
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