PUTRAJAYA – A senior police officer was given another chance to appeal a 10-year jail term and RM42 million fine imposed on him by the Court of Appeal for money laundering offences involving RM3.35 million.
This was after a three-member panel of the appellate court led by justice Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said allowed the 59-year-old deputy superintendent Mohd Ismail Syed Merah’s review application.
Justice Kamaludin, who presided with Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin, then set December 20 for case management before a deputy registrar for Ismail’s appeal.
On March 22 this year, a different Court of Appeal panel led by justice Datuk Has Zanah Mehat dismissed Ismail’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.
That panel also increased Ismail’s jail sentence from four years to 10 years and ordered him to pay a total fine of RM42 million in default 48 months’ jail after allowing the prosecution’s appeal.
Following the decision of the previous appellate court panel, Ismail filed a review application under Rule 105 of the Court of Appeal Rules 1994 seeking for the court to rehear his appeal.
Earlier, Ismail’s lawyer Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid said the high court and the Court of Appeal had used the burden of balance of probabilities, which is a lower burden of proof, when convicting Ismail on the charges.
He said the previous appellate court panel had decided that the prosecution only required to prove the elements of money laundering charges against Ismail on a balance of probabilities instead of beyond reasonable doubt, which is a higher burden of proof that is usually applied to criminal cases.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, who was assisted by DPP Mohd Fairuz Johari, countered by saying that Ismail had failed to meet the requirement for review, adding that all the issues had been ventilated by the previous Court of Appeal panel.
Ismail was first charged with five counts of using monies obtained from unlawful activities – involving RM10,143.37; RM40,000; RM6,283.09; RM993,716.91; and RM500,000, respectively – to buy and increase investments in a Takaful Life Insurance Protection Plan and Takafulink Plan registered under his daughter’s name, Nur Aqillah Mohd Ismail.
He also faces two other charges of committing money laundering, involving RM499,620 and RM29,950, using a third party account belonging to one Tan Kim Tee.
Ismail allegedly committed the offences at the MAA Takaful building, Jalan Tun Razak, Johor Baru and in two bank premises, namely RHB and CIMB banks at Jalan Rahmat near Batu Pahat, Johor between September 4, 2014 and December 28, 2015.
Ismail faces an eighth charge of possessing RM1.27 million and Rp8,178,000 (RM2,330) in his house which were proceeds from unlawful activities.
In 2019, Ismail was acquitted and discharged by the Johor Baru sessions court on all the money laundering charges. However, in 2020, the high court convicted him on all the charges and sentenced him to four years in jail for each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. – Bernama, December 2, 2022
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