SHAH ALAM – The high court here freed former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of all 40 charges of corruption in connection with the foreign visa system case.
High court judge Datuk Mohd Yazid Mustafa said the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against Zahid, who is also Umno president, on all charges.
In his judgement, Yazid explained that the prosecution’s star witnesses – two former directors of Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) Harry Lee Vui Khiun and Wan Quoris Shah Wan Abdul Ghani – as well as the firm’s former administrative manager David Tan Siong Sun did not provide the court credible evidence.
All three witnesses gave testimonies to the court based on an alleged political donation ledger in the possession of the company.
“As to the weightage given in the ledger, (it is) consistent with my earlier findings that prosecution witnesses 15 (Tan), 16, (Lee) and 17 (Wan Quoris) were not trustworthy, not believable, and not reliable, and had based their evidence heavily on the ledger.
“I, therefore, find that no weightage should be given to the ledger,” he said.
Yazid also said that the prosecution had failed to prove receipt of the monies allegedly given to Zahid by UKSB.
He compared this with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s Sarawak solar hybrid project corruption trial, where the prosecution had called witnesses, including bank tellers and drivers of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd former executives, to successfully establish the trail of monies given to her.
After Yazid stated that the prosecution had failed to prove their case, cries of “Allahuakbar!” could be heard from the courtroom’s public gallery.
Dressed in all-white baju melayu and black slacks, Zahid appeared elated when the decision was read out.
On June 26, 2019, Zahid was charged in the Kuala Lumpur sessions court with seven charges of corruption over the VLN system. On July 31 of the same year, the court allowed the Umno president’s application to transfer the case to the Shah Alam sessions court for it to be jointly heard with 33 other corruption charges, also in connection with the VLN case.
All the cases were then transferred to the Shah Alam High Court for hearing.
On the 33 charges, Zahid was alleged to have received bribes amounting to SG$13.56 million (RM43.62 million) from UKSB for himself as home minister to extend the contract of the company as the operator of one-stop-centre services in China and the VLN system as well as to maintain the contract agreement to supply the VLN integrated system to the same company by the Home Ministry.
He was charged with committing all the offences at Seri Satria, Precinct 16, Putrajaya, and Country Heights Kajang between October 2014 and March 2018.
The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The Bagan Datuk MP had also pleaded not guilty to 33 alternative charges framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, whereby he was charged in his capacity as home minister with receiving bribes amounting to SG$13.56 million in relation to the VLN system between 2014 and 2017.
On the other seven charges, he was alleged to have obtained for himself SG$1,150,000, RM3.125 million, 15,000 Swiss francs (RM70,941), and US$15,000 (RM68,542) from the same company, which he is alleged to have known to have a connection with his function as the then home minister.
He was charged with committing the offences at a house in Country Heights, Kajang between June 2015 and October 2017. – The Vibes, September 22, 2022
