KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal is set to hear the prosecution’s case against the high court’s decision to acquit former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of four power abuse charges.
According to the court’s scheduling system, the hearing is fixed for two consecutive days, starting today.
With this appeal, the prosecution seeks to reinstate all four charges against the Pagoh MP.
Muhyiddin, 76, was charged with several criminal offences in March last year, making him the second former prime minister to be dragged to court over graft allegations.
This comes after his predecessor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was charged with offences involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and SRC International Sdn Bhd funds in 2018.
Muhyiddin was charged on all four counts of power abuse on March 10 last year.
One of the charges saw him accused of using his position as the prime minister and Bersatu president to ask for RM200 million in bribes from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd between February 8 and 25, 2021.
He was accused of committing the offence at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex in Putrajaya.
On the same day, Muhyiddin was also charged with three more counts of power abuse for allegedly misusing his position to ask for an RM32.5 million bribe from Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, and Azman Yusoff for Bersatu between March 1, 2020, and August 20, 2021.
All four charges were made under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum of 20 years of jail time, or a fine of five times the value of the money solicited, or RM10,000 – whichever is higher.
However, he had filed a notice to strike out the power abuse charges on April 18 last year, noting the charges lacked specific details on how he allegedly abused his position or the Prime Minister’s Office for corrupt practices.
The high court, presided over by judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin, subsequently allowed his application and acquitted him of all four power abuse charges on August 15.
The judge ruled that the charges against Muhyiddin were vague, flawed, and unfounded, as they did not contain details of the offences committed.
It was also ruled that the four power abuse charges were defective and not in line with the Criminal Procedure Code, adding that the charges were unclear, thus jeopardising Muhyiddin’s ability to prepare his defence.
In response, the Attorney-General’s Chambers filed an appeal against the high court decision on the same day (August 15).
However, in addition to the four dropped cases, Muhyiddin has three remaining money-laundering charges related to the RM195 million received from Bukhary Equity and another RM5 million from unlawful activities.
The funds he allegedly received from Bukhary Equity were purportedly credited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account. – February 28, 2024