KUALA LUMPUR – Failure to prove that former Armada treasurer misappropriated means that the prosecution has subsequently failed to prove Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s alleged abetment, said lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.
Presided by high court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid, Gobind questioned why the prosecution did not provide evidence that Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was known as PW13, was dishonest or had misappropriated funds.
“It is our respectful submission that without evidence of misappropriation on the part of PW13, the allegation of dishonesty against PW13 in the charge crumbles,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
“(This results) in an instant failure on the part of the prosecution to prove abetment against the accused (Syed Saddiq) for the same exact offence.”
Gobind added that evidence in the trial only suggested Syed Saddiq and Rafiq acted in the best interests of Armada, their former party wing, and according to their responsibilities under Bersatu’s constitution.
He also cited the party wing’s purpose of organising events for Bersatu’s objectives – one of which was to defend the people’s welfare.
As such, he added the sum of RM1,000,000 withdrawn from Armada’s official bank account was to assist with Covid-19 relief, as well as Ramadan and Aidilfitri preparations.
“When the RM1,000,000 was withdrawn on March 6, 2020, there was RM1,800,000 available in total in Armada’s official CIMB account,” he said.
“The said monies were utilised for that purpose, the remaining balance from which was seized by MACC.
“At no time was the impugned RM1,000,000 in the direct custody and control of the accused personally, nor had any of the same been spent by him personally,” he added.
Gobind reiterated that “by any stretch of the imagination”, Rafiq could not have been said to have dishonestly misappropriated the funds, which in turn, cannot say that Syed Saddiq committed abetment.
The trial will resume tomorrow for the prosecution’s oral submission.
Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting Rafiq to commit criminal breach of trust, and for misusing party contributions belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise (ABBE) totalling RM120,000.
He also faces two charges of money laundering of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Nonetheless, Syed Saddiq believed the funds from ABBE actually belonged to him, as they were fundraiser proceeds from his GE14 campaign, where he used his own money to cover the expenses.
He also denied instructing Rafiq or former assistant secretary Ahmad Redzuan Mohamed Shafi to withdraw the Bersatu funds, a claim which was reiterated by the trial’s third witness, former Armada information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin. – The Vibes, April 10, 2023
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