PETALING JAYA: The attorney-general’s chambers (AGC) has dismissed claims that its reputation and credibility had been tarnished by the conditional discharge granted to deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his corruption case.
In a statement, Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh said charges against an accused may be dropped at any time as long as judgment has not been handed down.
“Such decisions can be made even after a prima facie case has been established.
“It is important to note that this is not the first time a charge has been dropped even after a prima facie case was established.”
Terrirudin said this in response to Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah, who claimed that the AGC’s decision to apply for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) at “such a late juncture” had tarnished its reputation and credibility.
Terrirudin said decisions were not made at whims and fancies nor does the AGC allow any party to have a say.
“We are in the best position to decide if charges should be dropped or not based on various factors including reports by the investigators.”
He said Zahid had not been acquitted and investigators were looking into the new evidence that has been raised.
Terrirudin said his office could not ignore issues raised in the representation sent by Zahid’s legal team, adding that “the duty of the attorney-general is to consider every reasonable detail given by the accused party”.
He said the AGC must uphold the legal maxim “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”.
He also reiterated the attorney-general’s right under the constitution to drop a case.
On Monday, Zahid was granted a DNAA on all 47 charges involving corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
He 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. - FMT
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