Muhyiddin Yassin has succeeded in his bid to quash his four abuse of power charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning allowed the former prime minister's striking out application.
Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin ruled that the charges were defective and not in line with the Criminal Procedure Code.
He said the charges did not reveal sufficient particulars on the alleged offence under the MACC Act 2009.
“The applicant (Muhyiddin) should not be allowed to speculate on how he was (alleged) to have committed the offences (in the four power abuse charges), on how he is supposed to prepare his defence (when he is not sure what the details of the alleged offences are).
“His fundamental right to a fair trial under the Federal Constitution was contravened,” Jamil said as Muhyiddin looked on from the dock.
The judge pointed out among the lack of clarity on the four charges was whether Muhyiddin was accused of making an unlawful decision or used his position in an unlawful way.
“The applicant must not be forced to undergo criminal proceedings that do not abide by the Criminal Procedure Code.
“To allow such proceedings to continue would be an abuse of process,” Jamil added.
The judge rejected the prosecution’s contention that the details and particulars would be revealed during the criminal trial, pointing out that the charges must already contain enough particulars to allow Muhyiddin to be better prepared to meet the allegations during trial.
The High Court ordered that Muhyiddin be discharged and acquitted of the four abuse of power charges, which were still pending at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
Vindicated
When met by the media at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex after proceedings, Muhyiddin said today's ruling vindicated his contention from the onset that the four power abuse charges were politically motivated.
"It was meant to oppress me, these false charges that do not disclose any offence. I will come down to the ground and explain this to the people," the Pagoh MP said.
"This was an abuse of the court process by certain quarters. This should not have happened," the Perikatan Nasional chairperson lamented.
As the Bersatu president was speaking, his supporters around him began raising their hands to the air and chanted “referendum”, “takbir” and “Allahuakbar” (Allah is Great) several times, prompting the former premier to join in as well.
Lawyers Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, K Kumaraendran and Rosli Dahlan represented Muhyiddin.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin led the prosecution.
Money laundering charges
On the status of the three money laundering charges against Muhyiddin which were not targeted specifically by the striking, Hisyam said that while the charges are still pending before the criminal court, these remaining charges cannot stand anymore.
This is because the three money laundering charges are dependent on the four predicate (main) abuse of power charges, the lawyer explained, pointing out that the main four charges have been nullified.
Prosecution to appeal
The DPP told reporters that the prosecution has instructions to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal over Jamil's ruling.
We will file the appeal this afternoon," Wan Shaharuddin said.
On the pending three money laundering charges, he said they would file an application to stay the charges, pending disposal of the appeal.
The matter is set to come up before the Sessions Court on Sept 19.
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