KUALA LUMPUR: A relieved Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin said there should not be any negative perception over his and his wife’s acquittal of corruption charges linked to a RM150 million Felcra investment.
“I also don’t want others to comment on the acquittal without knowing the full facts of the case.
“We won the case on merit after five years,” he told reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur court complex.
Earlier, the High Court used its revisionary powers to acquit and discharge the couple, with Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid saying the sessions court judge had erred by asking them to enter their defence.
Bung, who is the Sabah Umno chief, also said the public should not link his case with others.
While he did not mention which other cases he was referring to, today’s ruling comes after deputy prime minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on all 47 of his corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges on Monday.
Zahid had been accused of embezzling millions of ringgit from his foundation, Yayasan Akalbudi, and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018.
The decision, however, drew brickbats, with activists, party leaders from the unity government as well as the opposition demanding an explanation from the attorney-general.
Bung, 65, was charged in 2018 with two counts of receiving bribes amounting to RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as gratification to obtain Felcra’s approval to make a RM150 million investment in Public Mutual’s unit trust.
He was accused of receiving bribes from Public Mutual investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid, through his (Bung’s) wife, Zizie Izette Samad, at Public Bank’s Taman Melawati branch here between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
He was also charged with receiving a bribe of RM337,500 from another Public Mutual investment agent, Norhaili Mokhtar, under Zizie’s name at the same location on June 19, 2015.
Zizie, 44, faced three charges of abetting her husband in the alleged offences.
On Sept 2 last year, sessions court judge Rozina Ayob said the prosecution, which had called 30 witnesses, had established a prima facie case.
In her oral judgment, Rozina said she had looked into the totality of the evidence, though Madhi and Norhaili had given statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which contradicted their testimonies in court.
As such, she said, the prosecution had proven all the ingredients of the charges to establish a prima facie case.
Today, Justice Azhar said the sessions court had erred by asking Bung and Zizie to enter their defence when there was no evidence that Bung had received money from Madhi and Norhaili through Zizie.
He then discharged and acquitted the couple.
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How said he would obtain instruction from his superiors on whether to file an appeal. - FMT
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