A former aide to Mohamad Sabu at the Defence Ministry has been freed of seven charges of soliciting and accepting more than RM6.48 million in bribes.
However, what led to the decision by the Sessions Court is unclear.
When contacted, Mohd Azhar Che Mat Dali’s lawyer Haijan Omar was tight-lipped.
“Acquittal. That’s all I can say,” he told Malaysiakini.
He declined to comment further to queries on whether it was a full acquittal or if prosecutors had applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
There was also no response to questions on whether the acquittal was granted at the end of the prosecution’s case.
It is unclear if any media were present when the decision was made, with other reports solely citing Haijan’s guarded response.
Malaysiakini is attempting to get a response from the prosecution.
Accepting and soliciting bribes
Azhar (above) was the political secretary to Mohamad when the latter was defence minister from 2018 to early 2020.
Azhar was charged in October 2020 with five counts of accepting and soliciting bribes, amounting to RM6.35 million, to help a company secure ministry projects.
That same month, he was slapped with two additional charges of accepting bribes totalling RM130,000.
The sum was alleged to be gratification for assisting FEHM Entity Sdn Bhd in being selected as the strategic partner and maintenance contractor for the ministry’s intelligence system.
Azhar had claimed trial to all the charges. - Mkini
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