PUTRAJAYA: Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad failed in their final attempt to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision ordering them to enter their defence on three corruption charges involving RM2.8mil.
As a result, Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette are scheduled to enter their defence on corruption charges before Sessions Court judge Rosli Ahmad on Aug 18.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, unanimously dismissed the couple’s application yesterday stating that they had failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances or a miscarriage of justice that would justify a review of the call for defence ruling.
Justice Che Mohd Ruzima sat with Court of Appeal judges Justices Azizul Azmi Adnan and Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid.
On Nov 18 last year, a Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim allowed the prosecution’s appeal and overturned the High Court’s decision to acquit Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette, and ordered both to enter their defence.
Justice Che Mohd Ruzima said the Court of Appeal has always exercised caution when invoking its power to review earlier decisions, as such a review, on the face of it, runs contrary to the principle of finality, Bernama reported.
The judge said that when counsel for Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette submitted that there had been an injustice in the case, the court observed that the couple had an alternative remedy.
“The point raised before us can be canvassed in an appeal from the Sessions Court, should a conviction subsequently be recorded.
“We are of the view that the threshold requirements for leave to review the prior decision of this court have not been met.
“We are also of the view that this is a point that may validly be raised at the end of the defence case.
“For these reasons, we find that the threshold requirement for leave to review this court’s previous decision has not been fulfilled.
“Therefore, this application is dismissed,” he said.
In September 2022, the Sessions Court ordered the couple to enter their defence.
The couple succeeded in overturning the ruling through revision applications they then filed at the High Court.
This prompted the prosecution to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Bung Moktar, 65, who was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra Bhd, was charged on May 3, 2019, with two charges of accepting bribes of RM2.2mil and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra’s approval for a RM150mil investment in Public Mutual unit trusts.
He was alleged to have accepted the bribes from Public Mutual Bhd’s investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette, 46, at Public Bank Taman Melawati Branch, Kuala Lumpur, between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
Bung Moktar was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from Unit Amanah consultant, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, under the name of Zizie Izette for the same reason and place on June 19, 2015, while Zizie Izette was charged with three counts of abetting her husband over the matter at the same place, date and time.
On April 9, this year, the Sessions Court allowed the couple’s application to stay the defence proceedings pending the outcome of the review application.
