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SEVERAL high-profile and public interest court cases are set to unfold this week across Kuala Lumpur, Sepang and the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, with particular attention on contempt proceedings initiated by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
At the last High Court hearing in Kuala Lumpur, two video clips of press conferences published on online news portals were played in court. Judicial Commissioner Gan Techiong then fixed this Thursday for both parties to update the court on their next course of action.
“The committal proceedings are of a serious nature, and the court is allowing Dr Mahathir time to seek further instructions from his legal team. In the interest of justice, the proceedings will continue next month,” said the judge.
Sinar Harian cited, in a separate matter, the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya will also hear this Thursday the application by Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, to review the decision ordering them to enter their defence on three charges of receiving RM2.8 million in bribes.
The hearing date was set during a case management session in April before Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Nurul Nadia Azman.
Bung Moktar, 67, and Zizie Izette, 48, filed the application in March under Rule 105 of the Court of Appeal Rules 1994, arguing that the earlier panel of judges had no jurisdiction to hear the prosecution’s appeal and requesting a review panel to reinstate the original High Court decision.
Meanwhile, in the Klang High Court, celebrity preacher Azman Syah Alias, popularly known as PU Azman, was handed a reduced sentence of 12 years' imprisonment – down from the 24 years imposed by the Sessions Court – for two counts of sexual assault involving a 17-year-old boy three years ago.
In the Klang High Court, celebrity preacher Azman Syah Alias – better known as PU Azman – received a reduced sentence of 12 years in prison after the court allowed his appeal for concurrent sentencing, effective from 27 September 2024.
The original sentence, handed down last year, amounted to 24 years’ imprisonment and two strokes of the cane for two counts of sexual abuse against a 17-year-old boy.
However, the court maintained the corporal punishment of two canings. Azman, 44, had committed the offences at a homestay in Kampung Sungai Udang on 20 February and 29 June 2022.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years and whipping.
In addition, he is serving other sentences for similar offences, including a six-year term and one stroke from a separate conviction in the same court, and a seven-year sentence with two strokes imposed by the Seremban Sessions Court, Sinar Harian reported today.
Meanwhile, in the Sepang Sessions Court, cosmetics entrepreneur Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri Kamarzaman testified that his controversial ‘Kelepok Raya’ music video was inspired by works by Hael Husaini and Elizabeth Tan.
He claimed the male dancers featured in the video were professionally hired. The court has scheduled this Thursday for cross-examination by a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) prosecutor, as he defends himself against four charges related to the video uploaded three years ago.
On the same day in Sepang, travel agency manager Hafizul Hawari, 39, applied for a plea bargain in relation to charges of attempted murder of his ex-wife and injuring her bodyguard at KLIA.
The court had earlier fixed this Monday for trial, but was informed by Hafizul’s counsel of the intent to enter into a plea bargain. Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman set 17 July for further status updates on the application.
In another significant development, the Court of Appeal was updated on the latest move in the case involving Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, founder of Rumah Bonda, who was previously convicted for abusing a teenage girl with Down syndrome, Bella.
Her legal team has submitted a motion dated 7 May, linked to a police report filed by the mother of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin, a boy with autism who died under suspicious circumstances.
While the defence did not clarify the connection between the Bella case and that of Zayn Rayyan, they requested to introduce the motion as new or additional evidence. The appellate court adjourned proceedings to July and set 3 June for case management.
Elsewhere, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur has granted permission for Datin Seri Pamela Ling Yueh – missing since 9 April – to initiate judicial review proceedings to nullify an arrest warrant issued by the Johor Bahru Magistrates’ Court on 2 December at the request of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The court also allowed her request for a declaration that MACC has no legal authority to prevent any individual from leaving Malaysia, directly or indirectly. The next case management date is also set for 3 June. - May 19, 2025