KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here has dismissed an application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) by Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd director Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed and his wife in a criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering case.
Abu Sahid’s lawyer Datuk Jasbeer Singh made the DNAA application for his client after telling the court that the prosecution had yet to submit several key documents pertaining to the charge.
"It has been one year since my client was charged and there have been seven case mention proceedings for the prosecution to submit documents," he told the court on Friday (Sept 4).
"The volume of documents is not important – what matters now is whether the evidential issue has been covered under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code pertaining to delivery of documents.
"There should not have been a charge in the first place if the investigations were still going on or incomplete."
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This came after deputy public prosecutor Nidzuwan Abd Latif told the court that the prosecution would submit five more volumes of documents for the case but a few documents were still pending submission.
"The delay in submission of the documents is due to the need to liaise with the relevant authorities and agencies," Nidzuwan had said earlier.
Nidzuwan also said that any outstanding documents could still be provided before the trial began, giving the defence sufficient time to prepare its case.
He also told the court that the prosecution was ready for the High Court to fix a trial date.
Judge Suzana Hussin then dismissed the DNAA application, ruling that its use was not relevant for this case.
The court then ruled that the next mention would be used to determine the trial date, and informed the prosecution to prepare a list of witnesses.
The prosecution would also have to submit any remaining necessary documents by the next mention date.
The court then set Nov 20 for next mention.
Abu Sahid claimed trial to 17 counts of CBT and money laundering related to the proposed MEX II Highway project on Sept 8 last year.
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He was charged with four counts of CBT involving RM313mil and 13 counts of money laundering involving RM139mil, allegedly committed between May 2016 and October 2019.
The CBT charges fall under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years, caning and a possible fine upon conviction.
The money laundering charges fall under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFPUAA) 2001 that carries up to 15 yeatrs' jail and a fine of no less than five times the amount of proceeds from illegal activities or RM5mil, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
MEX II is a proposed 18km highway project linking Putrajaya to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) that began construction in 2016 and was scheduled for completion in December 2019 but was halted due to financial issues.
Abu Sahid also faces seven additional charges of misusing property under Section 403 of the Penal Code, involving RM145mil.
Abu Sahid’s wife, Puan Sri Noor Azrina Mohd Azmi was charged on Sept 8 last year with receiving proceeds from unlawful activities totaling RM67.14mil into her bank account from an account belonging to Abu Sahid between March and November 2017.
She was similarly charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the AMLATFPUAA and claimed trial.
