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PUTRAJAYA - A member of the three-judge panel at the Federal Court here on July 13 said that withdrawing RM1 million from the Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada) account did not constitute a criminal offence under the Penal Code.
Judge Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali made the remark in reference to Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s instruction to former Armada Assistant Treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, 36, to transfer the money from the Maybank Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise (ABBE) account into the Muar Member of Parliament's personal account.
While delivering the majority 2-1 judgment, he said the former president of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) could not be held responsible for the charge of abetment. He explained this was because the prosecution had failed to prove that the principal offender, Rafiq Hakim, who was also the 13th prosecution witness (SP13), had committed the offence. A charge of abetment under Section 109 of the Penal Code could only stand if the underlying offence had first been proven.
Additionally, the court noted that the constitution of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) only referred to restrictions on spending exceeding RM500,000 without approval from the Supreme Leadership Council (MPT), rather than the withdrawal of money from an account.
“Therefore, the act of withdrawing the money itself does not constitute an offence of criminal breach of trust as alleged by the prosecution,” Judge Che Mohd Ruzima said, noting that the terms “withdrawal” and “spending” carried completely different meanings.
He added that the court also took into consideration the possibility that the key witness had been subjected to undue pressure during investigations, which could have affected the reliability of his testimony.
In the same judgment, Che Mohd Ruzima said Syed Saddiq’s conviction for misappropriation of property under Section 403 of the Penal Code was also unsafe, as the prosecution failed to prove that the RM120,000 belonged to another party. Instead, evidence showed that the money was collected through donations for Syed Saddiq’s 14th General Election (GE14) campaign in Muar, making him the lawful owner of the funds.
The failure to prove the main offence under Section 403 also meant that the two money laundering charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA) could not be sustained. As such, he ruled that the prosecution’s appeal had no merit and upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit and discharge Syed Saddiq of all charges.
The Federal Court stated that the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s conviction on November 9 was unsafe based on the totality of evidence presented during the trial. With this latest ruling, the 34-year-old politician remains fully acquitted of all four charges involving abetment of criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property, and money laundering involving Armada funds.
In the 2-1 majority decision, two judges, Che Mohd Ruzima and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the politician deserved to be acquitted and discharged. Meanwhile, Court of Appeal President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Jais, who chaired the three-member panel, was the only judge who dissented from the acquittal decision.
Under the first charge, Syed Saddiq was accused of abetting Rafiq Hakim to commit criminal breach of trust by misappropriating RM1 million in funds entrusted to him. The offence was alleged to have taken place at CIMB Bank Berhad, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2, Kuala Lumpur, on March 6, under Section 406 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment, whipping, and a fine upon conviction.
For the second charge, he was accused of misusing property for his own benefit by misappropriating RM120,000 from ABBE’s Maybank Islamic Berhad account by causing Rafiq to dispose of the funds. Syed Saddiq was alleged to have committed the offence at Malayan Banking Berhad, Taman Pandan Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, between April 8 and 21, under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, whipping, and a fine.
He also faced two charges under AMLA involving the transfer of RM50,000 each from his Maybank Islamic Berhad account to his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account, allegedly involving proceeds from unlawful activities. Syed Saddiq was accused of committing the offences at a bank along Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and 19. The prosecution was brought under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.
Previously, on November 9, the Kuala Lumpur High Court convicted him on all charges before sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment, two strokes of the cane, and a RM10 million fine. In its 22-page judgment, the High Court rejected Syed Saddiq’s defence, describing his testimony as “illogical”, though it allowed a suspension of the execution pending appeal.
However, on June 25, the Johor Bahru-born politician was acquitted after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and sentence. A three-member panel led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, sitting with Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, unanimously ruled that instructing someone to withdraw money could not be considered as disposing of funds, a stance solidified by the highest court today.
