KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in the graft case of Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is ready to proceed with its appeal against the politician's acquittal.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin told the press that the Chief Justice has instructed for the hearing of the appeal to be fixed some time in late November or early December.
“However, the respondent, who is represented by lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, is seeking a date in January.
“This was not agreed to by the court,” he said when contacted.
According to DPP Wan Shaharuddin, the court has instructed both parties to send in letters on their preferred dates.
The case was brought up for case management via Zoom before deputy registrar Mahyun Yusof here on Tuesday (Sept 30).
On Sept 22, the prosecution filed 28 grounds of appeal, citing that the Court of Appeal judges had erred in law and facts when they allowed Syed Saddiq's appeal.
On June 25, a three-judge panel chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim unanimously allowed Syed Saddiq's appeal after finding that the trial judge had committed errors that warranted appellate intervention.
Other judges on the panel were Justices Azman Abdullah and Noorin Badaruddin.
On Nov 9, 2023, High Court judge Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid had found Syed Saddiq guilty of four charges, including abetting in criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds, and money laundering involving RM1.2mil.
He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, a RM10mil fine, and two strokes of the cane for all charges.
Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with RM1mil of Armada's funds, to commit CBT by misappropriating the funds.
On the second charge, the former youth and sports minister was charged with misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s Maybank Islamic Bhd account by making Rafiq dispose of the money.
He was also charged with two counts of money laundering via transactions of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.
