SHAH ALAM, Sept 24 - Former Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) chief operating officer (COO) Datuk Adi Azuan Abdul Ghani, 56, today claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to three counts of receiving valuable things as a public servant, namely house renovation costs amounting to RM302,499.27, nine years ago.
Adi Azuan made the plea after the charges were read out before Judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud.
According to the charges, Adi Azuan, as TH COO, received for himself valuable things for consideration, namely the renovation costs of three houses at Jalan Polo Air, Shah Alam; Jalan Sepah Puteri, Kota Damansara; and Jalan USJ Height, Subang Jaya, amounting to RM235,866.58, RM50,698.74 and RM15,933.95, respectively.
The three transactions were received from Thamsulazri Ismail, a director of AG Reka Sdn Bhd, who was known to have had dealings in matters conducted by Adi Azuan.
All the offences were allegedly committed at the three addresses on March 7, 2017.
The charges were framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin proposed bail of RM70,000, with the accused required to comply with additional conditions set by the court.
Lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, representing the accused, appealed to the court to consider bail of RM30,000, taking into account his cooperation with the authorities and the fact that he is supporting four children who are pursuing their studies at universities and schools.
“I also appeal to the court to consider allowing my client to retain his passport as he plans to perform umrah,” he said. He appeared together with lawyers Datuk Tania Scivetti and Effa Azuin Aidrul Hisham.
The court subsequently set bail at RM50,000 with additional conditions that the accused report to the MACC office in Putrajaya, refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses and surrender his passport to the court.
The case has been fixed for mention on November 25.
Legal action following the public release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the management and operations of TH has so far seen seven individuals charged in court.
They include former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, former TH chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, former THP Bina Sdn Bhd Safety and Health manager Nasahruddin Ahmad, and Alam Maritim Resources Bhd Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Azmi Ahmad.
The TH RCI report was made public on July 29, documenting various weaknesses in TH’s management and operations between 2014 and 2020, as well as listing problematic investments requiring a forensic audit.
The report also stated that there were suspicious transactions and concealment of information.
