KUALA LUMPUR – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi walks out a free man after the high court here granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) following the prosecution’s application to drop the graft case.
Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah made the ruling after the prosecution decided to halt the case as it wanted to investigate the case further, reported Bernama.
“This court makes an order of a discharge not amounting to an acquittal. Before I adjourned, I wish to place on record that although the powers of the attorney-general, under Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution and Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) to institute and withdraw charges at any time, before judgement is passed is unquestioned.
“Should the prosecution decide in the near future that they will not proceed any further with the charges, that much precious judicial time would have been wasted and a great amount of taxpayers money will also have been wasted, with that this court stands adjourned.”
This morning, the prosecution applied for a DNAA for all of Zahid’s 47 charges relating to graft, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering in Yayasan Akalbudi.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar had told the court that the prosecution would like to halt proceedings on all charges against Zahid.
“In accordance with the provisions in Article 145 of the federal constitution and Section 254 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the prosecution wishes to stop the proceedings on all charges against the accused (Zahid) by submitting 11 reasons.”
Previously, defence lawyers Hisyam, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Hamidi Mohd Noh in August called on the Attorney-General’s Chambers to provide a decision before the defence calls in more of its witnesses.
“The defence has already submitted representations on December 8 last year and January 25 this year, with over 200 pages to the prosecution, with the representations aimed at, among other things, asking for justice for (Zahid) and for all 47 charges in this case to be reviewed.
“Until today, the defence has not received any answer from the attorney-general (Tan Sri Idrus Harun). As such, the defence requests that the decision on the representations be expedited before the defence calls in more witnesses for this trial.
“A decision on these representations is needed as soon as possible to ensure that both sides can save costs and time,” the lawyers said in a joint statement on August 24.
Hamidi told the high court here that the defence had planned to call in a total of 32 witnesses, with 15 having already testified in court.
Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional linchpin Umno president, is facing 47 charges, 12 of them for breach of trust, eight charges of corruption, and 27 charges of money laundering, involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to his charity organisation, Yayasan Akalbudi.
On January 24, 2022, the court ordered Zahid to defend himself against all the charges after the prosecution succeeded in proving a prima facie case. – September 4, 2023