KUALA LUMPUR – The lower court had erred in issuing the order to have the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, surrender her international passport in January as she was not a flight risk, said her lawyers.
Her legal team, Messrs Raj & Sach, insists the order was issued without any presented evidence from the prosecution on the matter.
The team also questioned the validity of issuing a passport order without any supporting material being presented by the prosecution and whether the facts of the case justified such an order.
Na’imah raised these concerns in an application for a review of the order under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code, submitted through her lawyers to the high court.
“In the absence of evidence, reasons or documents referred to by the prosecution, the court lacks grounds to impose the condition of surrendering the passport,” Na’imah’s legal team said in a letter.
The application argues that no justification was given for seizing the passport on the day of the charge. Despite objections from the accused’s lawyer, the court still ordered the withholding of the passport as a bail condition.
The lawyers contended that the court erred in both law and facts when making the order, emphasising that the order was disproportionate and resulted in a “serious miscarriage of justice”.
“Passport rights are constitutional based on Articles 5(1) and 9 of the Federal Constitution. Strong reasons must be provided for detaining passports, not routinely at the prosecution’s request,” the legal team said.
Na’imah was charged under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009 for allegedly giving a sworn written statement on December 1, 2023 that did not comply with the notice terms served to her under Section 36(1)(b) of the same legislation.
The notice was issued on November 8 last year and served to her on November 14.
Scoop previously detailed the various possessions Na’imah was accused of hiding from the anti-graft agency, including multiple corporate entities, luxury vehicles and several properties.
Despite pleading not guilty, Na’imah was granted bail of RM250,000 with one surety and the additional condition of surrendering her passport until the proceedings of the case are completed.
On February 16, Na’imah’s lawyer, Rajesh Nagarajan, said that a review application to release the passport was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, with the hearing scheduled for today.
However, during today’s proceedings, Na’imah’s wait to retrieve her international passport was extended as the case hearing was postponed to next month.
High court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache ordered written submissions to be filed by March 4, with both parties responding by March 11. The hearing for the passport application case is set for March 13.
Deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Feisal Mohd Azmi, Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry and Maziah Mohaide are representing the prosecution, while Na’imah is represented by Rajesh, M. Puravalen, Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal and Nizamuddin Hamid. – February 19, 2024