[UPDATED] Court acquits Bung Moktar, wife of all three graft charges

KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today acquitted and discharged Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad of all three corruption charges.

Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid made the ruling after allowing the review bid by the couple against the decision by the Kuala Lumpur sessions court last year.

Zizie, 44, was seen crying in the dock as her husband, 63, sat beside her, looking on after the judge read out the ruling.

On September 2 last year, sessions court judge Rozina Ayob ruled that the prosecution had a prima facie case against Bung and Zizie, and ordered them to enter their defence over the corruption charges totalling RM2.8 million over unit trust investments.

Judge Azhar said that it was a fit and proper case to exercise revisionary powers under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

“After examining the records of proceedings, this court finds that there is no evidence that the 24th prosecution witness namely Public Mutual Bhd’s investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid and the 25th prosecution witness Unit Amanah consultant, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar had given money to Bung Moktar through his wife.”

With that, he said the decision of the sessions court to call for defence was a miscarriage of justice. 

“I hereby invoke Section 325 of the CPC to acquit and discharge both of them,” Azhar said.

The prosecution of the case was led by deputy public prosecutor Low Chin How while lawyers Datuk K. Kumaraendran and M. Athimulan appeared on behalf of Bung Moktar and Zizie respectively.

Following the court decision, Low said the prosecution would seek instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers on whether to appeal the decision.

On May 3, 2019, Bung Moktar claimed trial to three charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM2.8 million to obtain approval for Felcra Bhd to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.

According to the first charge, then Felcra non-executive chairman Bung Moktar had allegedly accepted RM2.2 million in cash from Madhi, through Zizie, at Public Bank’s Taman Melawati branch in Kuala Lumpur between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.

For the second charge, he was accused of accepting a bribe of RM262,500 in cash from Madhi through a Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund account registered in Zizie’s name.

He was also accused of accepting a bribe of RM337,500 in cash from Norhaili through a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund account, also registered in Zizie’s name.

Zizie was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from Norhaili, and faced another three charges of abetting her husband over the matter at the same place, date and time.

In May last year, the prosecution had closed its case after calling 30 witnesses.

Their acquittals come just days after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal after the prosecution decided to drop the charges. 

When asked to comment on the close timing of both cases, Bung Moktar said there is no link between the two cases.

“With our case, we were on trial for five years. So it is not related to each other. The judge acquitted us as the prosecution failed to prove its case.

“The two witnesses lied, and the court could not accept it,” Bung Moktar added. – The Vibes, September 7, 2023