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KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has granted the temporary return of Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s passport, allowing him to attend conferences next month in Switzerland and South Korea.
In his ruling, judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said Syed Saddiq will need to surrender his passport to the court by May 20, reported Bernama.
The prosecution led by deputy public prosecutor Mohd ‘Afif Ali did not object to the application.
Based on the affidavit, Syed Saddiq, who is also Muda president, will be attending an international conference on drug policies in Switzerland on May 1 and returning to Malaysia on May 6.
He will also be in South Korea on May 15 to speak at the 2023 Asian Leadership Conference and scheduled to return on May 19.
He would also need his passport to apply for visas prior to both trips.
Syed Saddiq was represented by Lim Wei Jiet.
On October 28 last year, the court ordered Syed Saddiq to enter his defence on the four charges of abetment in committing criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of assets, and money laundering after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case.
The prosecution closed its case on September 27 last year after calling 30 witnesses in the trial.
The prosecution witnesses included Syed Saddiq’s parents, Shariffah Mahani Syed Abdul Aziz and Syed Abdul Rahman Abdullah Asagoff, and Rafiq Hakim.
The former youth and sports minister testified in his own defence for two days from February 22 this year and five other individuals also gave evidence as defence witnesses, including former Armada information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin, and Syed Saddiq’s former special officer Mohamed Amshar Aziz and former private secretary Siti Nurul Hidayah.
Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid will deliver his judgement on a date yet to be fixed.
Syed Saddiq, 30, was charged as the then Armada chief with abetting Rafiq Hakim, who was entrusted with RM1 million in funds belonging to the wing, to commit criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the funds at CIMB Bank Bhd, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2 here on March 6, 2020.
The Johor Baru-born Syed Saddiq was also charged with misappropriating RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise by causing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking Bhd, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya here between April 8 and 21, 2018.
He also faces two counts of engaging in money-laundering activities, namely two transactions of RM50,000 each believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Baru, on June 16 and 19, 2018. – The Vibes, April 18, 2023