PUTRAJAYA: Lawyers for Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, have called for the Court of Appeal to dismiss the prosecution’s appeal against their acquittal from corruption charges, saying the duo would be prejudiced if called upon to enter their defence.
Lawyer M Athimulan, representing Bung, said his client is bound to be convicted of corruption as his defence that he did not receive RM2.8 million in bribes in exchange for a Felcra investment would be seen only as a bare denial.
My client will suffer a miscarriage of justice. He should not go through the process (of entering his defence) when there is no evidence that he received the money in the first place,
Athimulan told a three-member bench chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim.
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The bench will deliver its ruling on Nov 18.
The High Court had in a revision application acquitted the couple last year, overturning a sessions court ruling handed down in September 2022 ordering that they enter their defence in the case.
Athimulan said Bung, who is also the assemblyman for Lamag in Sabah, has three options if his defence is called. He can either give evidence from the witness stand, issue a sworn statement from the dock, or remain silent.
He said Bung would be found guilty if he testifies or states from the dock that he did not receive the money.
The law also states an accused must be convicted if the person opts to remain silent, he said.
Lawyer K Kumaraendran, appearing for Zizie, adopted Athimulan’s submission. He said the basic facts before the court did not show that Bung had received the money.
Earlier today, the bench refused the prosecution’s request for an adjournment despite deputy public prosecutor Maziah Mohaide informing the panel that her colleague, Law Chin How, had been down with high fever since yesterday and was on medical leave.
Maziah then said the prosecution would rely on its written submissions.
In its submissions, the prosecution said trial judge Rozina Ayob was correct in calling for Bung and Zizie to enter their defence after a maximum evaluation of the evidence before her.
The prosecution also contended that Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid of the Kuala Lumpur High Court was wrong to invoke his revisionary power to free the couple without referring to the trial judge’s reasoning and the evidence of prosecution witnesses Norhaili Mokhtar and Madhi Abdul Hamid.
It also claims Azhar was wrong to rely entirely on the trial judge’s oral ruling calling for the couple to enter their defence, and should have waited for the entire trial to be completed.
The prosecution said the High Court also erred in acquitting Bung and Zizie as Rozina did not say she had relied entirely on the evidence of Norhaili and Madhi to show that all the ingredients of the offences had been proven.
Bung, the non-executive chairman of Felcra, was charged on May 3, 2019 with two counts of receiving bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra’s approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
He is alleged to have accepted the bribes from Public Mutual’s investment agent Madhi through Zizie at the Taman Melawati Public Bank branch between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
He was also charged with receiving a bribe of RM337,500 from Public Mutual investment agent Norhaili under Zizie’s name at the same location on June 19, 2015.
Zizie faces three charges of abetting Bung in the commission of the alleged offences.
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