KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here will decide on Jan 20 whether former Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man will be called to enter his defence or acquitted of 10 charges involving alleged false claims and receiving proceeds of illegal activities.
Judge Azura Alwi fixed the date after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence at the end of the prosecution's case.
The court also set Feb 10 to 12, March 26, and April 16 and 30, 2027, as trial dates should Azlan be ordered to enter his defence.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noralis Mat submitted that Azlan had made five claims for overseas travel facilities between 2013 and 2017, purportedly in his capacity as Mentri Besar, although investigations found that the trips did not take place on the stated dates.
"The 18th prosecution witness (SP18), former Senior Private Secretary to Azlan, Herwardy Hashim, testified that he was instructed by the accused to provide his bank account number to SP10, former managing director of Sri Kedawang Travel & Tour (W) Sdn Bhd (SKTT), Shafiei Ismail, for the purpose of depositing money received by SKTT into the accused's account.
"This was because the accused wanted to cancel the trip that had been approved through a local order (LO) and undertake the trip himself," he said.
Noralis said the testimony of the 17th prosecution witness, former Assistant Accountant at the Management Services Division of the Perlis State Secretary's Office, Mohd Aswad Abdul Razak, established that claims for overseas holiday travel facilities could not be converted into cash.
He said the allocation was intended to cover overseas travel expenses, while payment to the travel agent had already been confirmed by the Mentri Besar's Office.
He added that this was supported by the testimony of SP12, Perlis Treasury representative Azmi Abdul Latif, who said Azlan could not receive reimbursement for overseas holiday travel claims that had already been made between 2013 and 2017.
"If the holiday trip is cancelled, the travel agent is responsible for cancelling the local order issued to them," he said.
Noralis further argued that Azlan's alleged practice of having the money transferred into his personal account every year could not be dismissed as an innocent mistake.
"If the trip is cancelled, the money should have been returned to the Perlis State Government, not handed over to the accused," he said.
Meanwhile, defence counsel Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid said the Perlis government allocated annual funds to the Mentri Besar for overseas travel, and the services of a travel agent were required to make the necessary bookings and secure the allocation.
He maintained that the entire claims process had been conducted transparently.
"The prosecution claimed that he did not travel but submitted claims for the trips. However, the investigating officer testified that the accused had travelled on other dates," he said.
Burhanudeen added that the defence had also submitted passport and immigration records to support its position.
Azlan, 67, is facing five charges of submitting false claims involving overseas holiday travel facilities amounting to more than RM1.18mil, allegedly committed at the Perlis State Secretary's Office between December 2013 and December 2017.
The claims involved flight ticket quotations to London, United Kingdom, as well as invoices issued by SKTT and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.
He is also facing five charges of receiving proceeds of illegal activities amounting to RM1.06mil between Feb 19, 2014 and December 2017 at several locations, including the Maybank branch in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the CIMB Bank branch in Putrajaya and the Sheraton Imperial Hotel here.
In addition, Azlan faces five alternative charges of misappropriating RM1.06mil belonging to the Perlis government, which had been paid to SKTT and Aidil Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd. — Bernama
