KUALA LUMPUR: Muhyiddin Yassin’s lawyers have objected to the prosecution’s request for a joint trial on a total of seven charges, saying that the four charges for abuse of power “do not disclose an offence known to law”.
In a statement, they said the prosecution’s contention that the four predicate offences are closely connected to the other three money laundering charges is “completely misconceived” and “premature”.
“Without touching on the merits or the lack thereof on the application for a joint trial, we hereby state it is a cardinal principle of criminal justice that there can be no joint trial when the four predicate offences do not disclose an offence known to law,” they said.
The former prime minister filed an application on April 19 to have the defective charges struck off and a case management will be held on Wednesday.
“Our initial response was to inform the court that we would be objecting to the application for joint trial and asked the court to give us time to file an appropriate response by way of an affidavit in reply,” his lawyers said.
Sessions court judge Azura Alwi has given the defence until June 30 to reply.
The media response came following a FMT report today that the prosecution has sought a joint trial of Muhyiddin’s four abuse of power and three money laundering charges in the interest of justice and to save judicial time.
Presently, six of the seven charges are pending in one of the two sessions courts here, while one money laundering charge is before the other court.
In a notice of motion filed last Thursday for one sessions court judge to preside over the entire matter, the prosecution said the seven charges involve the same documents and witnesses.
The prosecution also said the four abuse of power charges are closely connected to the three money laundering charges.
It said the law also required a joint trial to be held in these cases as the prosecution must first prove the abuse of power charges which are the predicate offences.
It added that the three money laundering charges will automatically fall should the prosecution fail to establish a prima facie case on the four abuse of power charges.
Azura had also set Aug 4 for the next mention of the case, in light of Muhyiddin’s two pending applications before the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional chairman, had filed an application to transfer the matter from the sessions court to the High Court, which will come up for case management on May 31.
He had also made another application to strike out the money laundering charges.
The abuse of power charges, framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, accused Muhyiddin of using his position as then prime minister and Bersatu president to induce a payment of RM232.5 million from three companies and an individual to his party between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
The companies are Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd while the individual is businessman Azman Yusoff.
Muhyiddin is also charged with three counts of money laundering amounting to RM200 million allegedly committed here and in Petaling Jaya. - FMT
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