THE WIFE of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today for failing to comply with a notice of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) by not declaring her assets.
Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid, 67, pleaded not guilty as soon as the charge was brought against her before Judge Azura Alwi.
She was charged with giving a sworn written statement that did not comply with the terms of the notice in accordance with Section 36(1)(b) MACC Act 2009, dated November 8 last year, which deals with identifying every property belonging to her or in her possession.
According to Bernama, the properties are Menara Ilham, two companies namely Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd, two luxury cars, both Mercedes Benz models, a house in Persiaran Bukit Tunku, four lots of land in Bukit Tunku, and one lot each in Penang and Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.
The notice was sent to the accused by an MACC officer with the rank of commissioner on November 14, 2023.
The offence was allegedly committed at the MACC headquarters, Lebuh Wawasan, Precinct 7, Putrajaya, on December 13.
Section 36(2) of the MACC Act provides for a prison sentence of not more than five years and a maximum fine of RM100,000 if she is convicted.
Na'imah was represented by lawyers Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, M Puravalen and Alex Tan.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Feisal Mohd Azmi, Mohd Fadhly Mohd Zamry and Maziah Mohaide.
Azura granted bail for the accused to be set at RM250,000 and ordered that her passport be handed over to the court as a condition.
The court then set March 22 for submission of documents.
Earlier, Feisal sought bail of RM500,000, for Na'imah's passport to be handed over, and that she reports to the MACC office once a month.
However, Yusof argued that the amount was too high and did not suit the gravity of the offence committed. He said that a bail of RM250,000 would be sufficient for his client.
He argued that there were no facts to justify Na'imah needing to surrender her passport to the court because she was not involved in a criminal case involving violence or posed no risk of fleeing.
He also said that her residence was in the vicinity behind the court.
She was not going anywhere and was there to defend herself, he added.
On January 10, she and her two sons were present at the MACC headquarters after they were called in with regards to a corruption investigation on her husband, who is a businessman.
Following that, the MACC’s Anti-Money Laundering Division director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin had confirmed that statements had been taken from them to assist in investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla).
Daim is being investigated under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009 and Section 4 (1) of Amla.
On December 30, the MACC said that it had opened an investigation paper in February 2023 based on information from the Pandora Papers.
As part of the investigation process, the public prosecutor issued a notice of seizure on Ilham Tower, a property linked to Daim, on December 18, 2023, under Section 38(1), MACC Act 2009 (Seizure of immovable property), the agency said. – The Vibes, January 23, 2024
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