Kota Kinabalu: The first wife of former Sabah Railway Department chief engineer Ismail Ahmad admitted in court Monday that she had full knowledge of RM275,550 deposited into their joint HSBC account in 2016, but denied that the money came from unlawful activities.
Muhilim @ Masniah Buaya @ Buayie, 65, agreed during cross-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nurul Izzati Sapifee before Special Corruption Court Judge Andi Razalijaya A. Dadi, that she could access the joint account at any time.
She also agreed that the account was opened for the purpose of their children’s education and that, as a mother, she knew she needed to check the status and amount of money in the account.
When referred to the deposits made between March 31 and April 27, 2016, Muhilim agreed that the amounts exceeded her and Ismail’s monthly emoluments.
She agreed that her monthly salary in 2016 was below RM10,000, but was unsure whether Ismail’s salary was around RM10,000 a month.
Muhilim disagreed with the prosecution’s suggestion that the deposits were beyond their financial capacity even if both their salaries had been deposited into the account.
She said she had asked Ismail about the deposits and checked the details through the monthly bank statements she received.
She also disagreed that she did not know the source of the money deposited into their joint HSBC account.
Muhilim maintained that the money deposited into the account, which was managed by Ismail, came from legitimate sources.
Muhilim agreed that she had signed four separate personal loan agreements totalling RM900,000, which were drafted by Ismail.
She said she did not receive the money under the agreements, explaining that the payments were made in stages and received by her husband.
She agreed that she knew the amount involved was substantial and understood the consequences of entering into the loan agreements.
Muhilim also agreed that she had failed to declare at least 10 properties to Yayasan Sabah, despite agreeing that, as a senior officer, she should have known of her obligation to fully declare her assets.
However, she disagreed that she had been dishonest in owning the properties or that the properties came from unlawful sources.
She also denied knowing about Ismail’s dealings with Hiew Thiam Kiun or that the RM275,550 deposited into their HSBC account came from Hiew.
Meanwhile, DPP Shafiq Mahadi challenged Muhilim over her evidence that she had checked the HSBC statements every month.
Muhilim disagreed that her evidence contradicted her witness statement that she did not know about the transactions in the account.
However, she agreed that regularly checking the statements for March to September 2016 showed she had full knowledge of the RM275,550 in cash deposits.
Shafiq then questioned Muhilim about an EPF withdrawal of RM117,123.65, which she initially testified was made on Nov 18, 2011 when she turned 50.
Muhilim agreed that she later changed her evidence to say the withdrawal was made in 2016 when she was 55.
She testified that RM70,000 from the withdrawal was deposited into ASB, while the balance was deposited into an Alliance Bank account, with part of it withdrawn in cash and kept at home.
However, she agreed that she could not produce an ASB statement, Alliance Bank statement or cash withdrawal slip to support her claim.
She disagreed with the prosecution’s suggestion that she changed the withdrawal date from 2011 to 2016 because she realised the earlier withdrawal could not explain the cash flow relating to the 2016 charges.
Muhilim agreed, however, that the documentary evidence showed the EPF withdrawal was made on Nov 18, 2011, nearly five years before the joint HSBC account was opened on March 29, 2016.
She also agreed that she had no written records to prove that the balance of the 2011 EPF withdrawal remained in cash at home until 2016.
Ismail is jointly charged with Muhilim over RM275,550 allegedly derived from unlawful activities between March and September 2016 at the HSBC Kota Kinabalu branch.
He is also jointly charged with his second wife, Runtiah Rais, over RM133,300 allegedly derived from unlawful activities between February and September 2016 at the OCBC Bank Kota Kinabalu branch.
Runtiah also faces five separate money laundering charges involving a total of RM30,000 allegedly derived from unlawful activities at Maybank branches in Karamunsing, Putatan and Kg Air here, and at Pos Malaysia Putatan on July 1, 2016.
Each charge is framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which provides for up to 15 years’ jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the proceeds from the unlawful activity or RM5 million, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Ismail, Muhilim and Runtiah are represented by counsel Zahir Hussein Ahmad Shah, Datuk Rizwandean M Borhan and Elhanan James.
MACC DPPs Haresh Prakash Somiah, Nurul Izzati Sapifee and Shafiq Mahadi are prosecuting.
Trial continues.
