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PUTRAJAYA – The Court of Appeal today remitted back the revision applications filed by Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, to the high court for the merits of the applications to be heard.
The couple filed the revision applications to challenge the sessions court’s decision ordering them to enter their defence on three corruption charges last year.
The appellate court’s three-member bench comprising justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin ordered the couple’s revision applications to be sent back to the high court for it to consider the merits of their applications.
Hadhariah, who chaired the bench, said when a revision application is filed, it is the duty of the high court to consider the merits of the application, irrespective of whatever mode the revision application was filed.
She said in Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette’s case, the high court did not hear the merits of the revision applications when the court dismissed said applications based on the grounds that they had used the wrong mode to file the revision.
Hadhariah said there was no specific mode mentioned in the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 on how a revision can be done.
She said the high court judge, on his own motion, can call up a case for revision after reading the newspaper or calling for the files or at the instance of any party or person interested at any stage of the proceeding.
“In this case, the (revision) applications were made by the counsel of the accused (Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette) at the stage of the prima facie case,” she said.
She then fixed July 14 for case management in the high court.
On December 9 last year, high court judicial commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid dismissed their revision applications without hearing the merits of the applications.
Justice Azhar rejected the revision applications after accepting the prosecution’s preliminary objection that the revision applications were improper before the court as they had used the wrong method to file the applications.
The sessions court on September 2 last year ordered Bung Mokhtar and Zizie Izette to enter their defence on the corruption charges amounting to RM2.8 million involving a RM150 million investment in a Public Mutual Bhd unit trust.
This prompted them to file the revision applications in the high court.
Following the high court’s dismissal of their revision applications, they filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In today’s proceedings, the court heard a preliminary objection by the prosecution to Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette’s appeal, saying that the high court’s decision is not appealable.
On May 3, 2019, Bung Moktar was charged with two charges of accepting bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
He is alleged to have accepted bribes from Public Mutual Bhd investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette at the Public Bank Taman Melawati branch here between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
Bung Moktar was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from Unit Amanah consultant Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar under the name of Zizie Izette for the same reason and place on June 19, 2015.
Zizie Izette, meanwhile, is facing three charges of abetting her husband over the matter at the same place, date and time.
Bung Moktar was represented by lawyer M.M. Athimulan while lawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran acted for Zizie Izette. Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How appeared for the prosecution. – The Vibes, July 7, 2023
