The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has given former Perlis menteri besar Azlan Man another two months to prepare his letter of representation for a review of his RM1.185 million false claims and money laundering case.
Judge Azura Alwi this morning has set Nov 10 for further mention of the case to allow the accused’s legal team more time to prepare relevant documents for the representation.
Back on June 9, Azlan’s lawyer Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid informed the criminal court that they intend to file the representation.
Under the law, a letter of representation is a method for the accused to seek prosecutors to review the criminal case against them, such as dropping the charges or for the accused to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
During mention of the case today, Burhanudeen said they need additional time to prepare the representation documents as the case involved alleged incidents dating as far back to 2013.
“We seek a time extension of two more months,” the lawyer said, proposing that the case be set for further mention on Nov 10 so that the defence team can complete the documentation and send the representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Deputy public prosecutor Noralis Mat Rasyidah Azmi Kalai then indicated the prosecution has no objection to the extension of time, adding that they have handed over case-relevant documents to the defence team.
Azura then set Nov 10 for further mention of the case.
“However, if there is no further or positive developments (in terms of representation), then parties (both prosecution and defence) must be prepared for full trial,” the judge said.
The charges
Back on April 10 before the Kangar Sessions Court, Azlan claimed trial to five charges of submitting false claims involving RM1.185 million for his trip to the United Kingdom.
Two days later, before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, the accused pleaded not guilty to five counts of money laundering involving RM1,059,675.25.
In relation to the false claims charges, he was alleged to have committed the offence between December 2013 and Dec 14, 2017.
The false claims charges were framed under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, and punishable under Section 24(2) of the Act, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and fine not less than five times the amount involved.
In relation to the money laundering charges, the offences were allegedly committed between Feb 19, 2014, and December 2017.
Money laundering is the offence of concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.
The five money laundering charges are framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amlatfpuaa).
Azlan faces a maximum jail term of five years, a fine not less than five times the unlawful proceeds amount or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
All the false claims and money laundering offences allegedly involved two companies, namely Sri Kedawang Travel & Tours (W) Sdn Bhd and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
Azlan’s false claims case has since been transferred to the Kuala Lumpur criminal court for joint trial with the money laundering case.
The 64-year-old accused was the Pauh assemblyperson from 2013 to 2018. He then held the Bintong seat from 2018 until 2022.
His bid to retain the seat during the 2022 election was unsuccessful, thus ending his two-term run as menteri besar.
After the 14th general election in 2018, Azlan was the last menteri besar to be appointed following Perlis BN's refusal to back him.
Perlis BN assemblypersons eventually stood down and joined Azlan's cabinet. - Mkini
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