Musa Aman pleads not guilty to 35 graft charges (updated)

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman has claimed trial to 35 charges of graft at the Sessions Court here.

He pleaded not guilty before Judge Rozina Ayob for the charges under Section 11(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 for accepting gratification by agent.

It took two court interpreters to read the 35 charges, which were allegedly committed between Dec 20, 2004 and Nov 6, 2008.

He had allegedly received a total of US$63mil (around RM243mil) in Hong Kong and Singapore as an inducement for offering timber concessions in Sabah.

The prosecution, led by former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, said they had no objection for bail to be offered to Musa.

He requested for the bail to be fixed at RM5mil in two sureties and for Musa to surrender all his passports.

Musa's lead counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad asked for a lower bail in mitigation, saying that the quantum of the bail should not be punitive.

He said that his client has had extended full cooperation to authorities and had returned from London where he was seeking treatment despite his doctor's advice not to do so.

Musa was chief minister for 15 years from 2003 until May 2018.

The 67-year-old Sungai Sibuga assemblyman was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) earlier Monday (Nov 5) morning in Putrajaya.