PETALING JAYA: As the curtains close on 2023, FMT reflects on major headlines that marked the year.
Great 28-car police chase
B Anbarasan led police on a wild 28-car chase through the streets of Cyberjaya, with videos of the chase in pursuit of his Perodua Bezza going viral.
The chase began in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya, when he rammed the motorcycle of an officer who tried to stop his car.
He was sentenced to a month in prison and fined RM10,000 for reckless driving and obstructing the police.
Anbarasan and his wife, M Rishlani, who accompanied him, were also charged in the sessions court with possessing a knife in the vicinity of the police district headquarters. They were granted bail of RM5,000 each in one surety, and now await trial after the court fixed Jan 16 for mention.
Murder of 6-year-old autistic boy
The nation mourned the loss of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, a six-year-old autistic boy found dead by a stream near the Idaman flats in Damansara Damai a day after he was reported missing.
The investigation, spanning 280 houses and 172 individuals including the victim’s parents, witnesses, neighbours, and those living nearby, was reclassified as murder after a post-mortem uncovered defensive wounds and signs of strangulation.
Double stabbing send shockwaves
Jealousy is said to have led to the brutal daylight stabbing of singer Yuki Koh in a car park at Taman Chi Liung in Klang after a short argument with a 44-year-old suspect.
The suspect, believed to be a jilted admirer, is alleged to have tried to wake the victim after repeatedly stabbing her, failed, and then stabbed himself with the same knife before police arrived.
In a separate case, a man in his 20s who allegedly killed a woman with a parang and later attempted suicide by leaping off the Penang Bridge, was rescued by fishermen before being arrested by the police.
Syed Saddiq found guilty
The focus was also on the High Court as Muar MP and former Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was found guilty on four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property and money laundering linked to RM1.12 million of Bersatu Youth funds.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison, two strokes of the rotan, and fined RM10 million, following which he resigned from his position in Muda.
Muhyiddin acquitted, Bung Moktar goes free in graft case
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was acquitted and discharged of four counts of abuse of power related to the Jana Wibawa project involving RM232.5 million.
The High Court decision, citing vague and unfounded charges, prompted an appeal by the prosecution, scheduled to be heard on Feb 28 and 29. Meanwhile, Muhyiddin faces three other charges under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Shortly after, High Court judge Azhar Abdul Hamid acquitted and discharged Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Zizie Izette, of charges of corruption over a RM150 million Felcra investment.
Bung, 65, faced charges of receiving bribes totalling RM2.2 million and RM262,500, allegedly to secure Felcra’s approval for a RM150 million investment in a Public Mutual unit trust.
Siti Bainun’s lawyers exit Bella’s case
The lawyers of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali withdrew from her case of abuse and neglect, leaving her with no legal representation.
After a May 3 ruling, she was convicted by sessions court judge Izralizam Sanusi of the mistreatment of Bella, a girl with Down Syndrome, from February to June 2021, despite pleading not guilty.
Siti Bainun is appealing her conviction and sentence of 12 years jail on two abuse charges. She was also ordered to serve 200 hours of community service after she completes her jail term, and to be placed under a good behaviour bond for five years.
Ramasamy pays RM1.52 million in Zakir Naik’s defamation suit
Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy was ordered by the High Court to pay Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik RM1.52 million in libel damages.
The ruling followed two defamation suits filed by Naik in 2019 over five allegedly defamatory statements by Ramasamy on social media and in news portals.
Ramasamy, who raised the funds through crowdfunding, clarified on Facebook that the money could not be pledged to any cause, but would be held in a client’s account for Naik’s lawyers until the appeal process concludes. - FMT
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