PUTRAJAYA (May 22): The Court of Appeal (COA) has ruled that Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad must continue defending themselves in a RM2.8 million graft case linked to Felcra Bhd’s investment scheme at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
A three-member COA bench, presided by Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, dismissed on Thursday the Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chief’s, 65, and his wife’s, 47, application for a review over another appellate bench decision in November, that ordered them to enter their defence at the Sessions Court.
They must appear in the Sessions Court on Aug 18-20, Sept 2-4, and Sept 24-26, before judge Rosli Ahmad.
Bung Moktar, the member of Parliament for Kinabatangan, is charged with receiving bribes totalling RM2.8 million to help approve Felcra’s RM150 million investment in Public Mutual. He allegedly received RM2.2 million, RM262,500, and RM337,500 (the last under Zizie’s name) on June 19, 2015. His wife, Zizie, is charged with abetting him in all three instances.
Che Mohd Ruzima said the court sets a high bar for reviewing earlier decisions, and must be careful when allowing such reviews. He added that legal cases need to have a clear end.
“The appellants have to show that there is significant injustice, and there is no alternative remedy. In this matter, the bench found that both appellants are not without an alternative remedy, as they canvassed the matter at the Sessions Court in their defence.”
“On the issue of presumption under Section 50 of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission Act for the offence of abetment (on Zizie), this point can also be validly raised at the defence case. For these reasons, the threshold for review has not been met, and their review application is dismissed,” Che Mohd Ruzima said.
The other two members of the bench were Datuk Azizul Azmi Adnan and Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid in the unanimous decision.
In arguing for the review, Bung Moktar’s lawyer, M Athimulan, argued that the Sessions Court ignored the testimony of two key witnesses but still required Bung to defend himself. He also claimed that the judge found no evidence of graft but still called for a defence. Lawyers Datuk Seri K Kumaraendran and William Leong represented Zizie.
During the hearing, judges Azizul and Che Mohd Ruzima questioned the injustice in the earlier decision, as the matter could be addressed later during the defence at the Sessions Court, and again in the High Court.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How argued that once enough evidence is found for a case to proceed, it cannot be revised. He called the review request an abuse of court process, and a speculative argument.