Jana Wibawa trial: Muhyiddin's lawyer accuses MACC witness of 'intimidation' over police report

 

The defence team in Muhyiddin Yassin's Jana Wibawa case today moved to cite the 29th prosecution witness, Mazery Zaini, for contempt of court over a police report lodged against one of the lawyers representing the former prime minister.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said the report was lodged against him over the ownership of a document, namely a copy of the recorded statement of Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad, which has allegedly nothing to do with the trial before this court.

"I can only conclude and infer that the person who related this information is the witness who is in the witness box today, while he is still under oath and still in the process of giving evidence.

"Now, the conduct of lodging this report, mentioning my name, trying to tarnish my reputation and giving false information that the report or the document has nothing to do with the case, is an attempt to mislead the public, mislead the authorities and a form of intimidation.

"I do not want to waste judicial time, but I want to put on record that we are considering various legal actions,” he said.

He did not rule out lodging a report against the appropriate person, including the investigating officer, for making a false report, contempt of court and any other legal action.

The remark came before the hearing of Muhyiddin's case, in which the former prime minister faces seven charges of abuse of power and money laundering before judge Noor Ruwena Nurdin.

Officer apologises

Mazery, a MACC investigating officer, was due to continue his testimony today, but instead apologised to the legal team, particularly Amer, over the said police report.

"First, I would like to apologise to the legal team, especially Amer, over the police report that was lodged out of concern that the document might have come from MACC officers and that there was an internal leak of information among MACC officers.

"I need to protect my own department's integrity as far as MACC officers are concerned. That is why the report was made, to see whether there are any avenues for leaks within MACC itself, because we do not want important classified documents like this to be released freely, especially in the future," he said.

He said that if no leak is found among its officers, the commission will withdraw the police report as soon as possible.

Amer said he acknowledged the witness' apology and explanation, but could not fully accept the reasoning as long as the police report remains in place.

Excessive

Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin (below) argued that it was excessive to treat the police report as a form of intimidation against the defence.

"I think that is going too far. Mazery has explained to the court the purpose of the report and also stated his willingness to withdraw it if investigations find no leak from the MACC," he said.

He said Mazery had a responsibility as an investigating officer to safeguard MACC's integrity, but the prosecution left the matter to the court.

Ruwena said the court took the matter seriously because Mazery was still in the process of giving evidence.

"The court is also concerned. Because you are still in the process of giving evidence, that is why I want to know first if the person referred to as the investigating officer in the police report is you or someone in your team?" she asked.

Ruwena then asked Mazery to check with his department to confirm those connected to the document and the report.

"You have to get in touch with that IO (investigating officer) and inform the court immediately," she said before the hearing resumed.

- Bernama