KUALA LUMPUR – Former Armada treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali may not have had the same guilty intention as his abetter, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, said deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
During the prosecution’s oral submission, Wan Shaharuddin told judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid that Syed Saddiq had a guilty intention behind his acts, which included allegedly “using” his friends, withdrawing RM1,000,000 of party funds, and misappropriating another RM120,000.
He added that whether Rafiq had conducted a criminal breach of trust did not change the fact that the Muar MP had the aforementioned guilty intention.
“Abetting is not a strict liability offence. Therefore, there needs to be a risk and mens rea (criminal intent),” he said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
“It is not necessary that the person abetted should be credible by the law of committing an offence, or have the same guilty intention and knowledge. PW13 (Rafiq) may not have the same guilty intention as OKT (Syed Saddiq),” he added.
Wan Shaharuddin provided a hypothetical situation where Person A instructs Person B to murder Person C, adding that Person A will still be liable for abetment, regardless of Person C’s mortal status.
He said this in response to defence lawyer Gobind Singh Deo’s dispute that evidence of misappropriation by Rafiq should be proven in order to subsequently prove Syed Saddiq’s abetting charge.
Nonetheless, Gobind refuted the notion, reiterating his argument that evidence must be present to prove the former youth and sports minister’s charge.
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Afif Ali alleged that Rafiq was not made aware of Syed Saddiq’s intention to use the RM120,000 fundraising proceeds as reimbursement for his expenses.
He added no evidence showed Syed Saddiq’s personal funds were fully used for his GE14 campaign expenditures.
Following the conclusion of both sides’ oral submissions, Azhar said the decision will be determined in the near future.
Syed Saddiq is on trial for abetting Rafiq to commit a 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.
The Muda president claimed the funds from ABBE actually belonged to him since they were his GE14 campaign’s fundraiser proceeds, 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 echoed by the trial’s third witness, former Armada information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin. – The Vibes, April 11, 2023
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