PUTRAJAYA, April 17 — The Court of Appeal was told that Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's action in ordering former Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada) assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali to 'clear' the RM1 million withdrawn from its account was a dishonest act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said Saddiq asked Rafiq Hakim, the 13th prosecution witness (SP13), to do so over the telephone because he feared that the money would be seized by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
He said SP13 had told the court that he received the instruction from Saddiq, despite the latter, in his defence, claiming that he did not give such an instruction.
“When asked what was meant by ‘to clear’, SP13 replied, ‘Do not keep the money in my house’ and when asked whether ’ clear’ means dispose (lupus), SP13 replied ‘Yes’," he said.
Today is the third day of the trial of Muar MP Saddiq's appeal against his conviction and sentence on four charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering related to Armada funds.
The hearing is before a three-judge panel comprising Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
Shaharuddin said Saddiq, who is the former youth and sports minister, had committed the offence of abetment by instructing Rafiq to commit the crime.
He said there was evidence showing that Saddiq had instructed Rafiq to withdraw the RM1 million on March 6, 2020.
As such, the High Court judge had convicted and sentenced Saddiq based on the law and correct evidence.
“There was no error on the part of the trial judge that led to a miscarriage of justice that required the intervention of the Court of Appeal. Therefore, we request that the conviction on the charge of abetment of criminal breach of trust not be disturbed,” Shaharuddin said.
Meanwhile, DPP Farah Ezlin Yusop Khan, who also appeared for the prosecution, said there was no withdrawal of the money collected by Armada for use in Saddiq’s campaign during the 14th general election (GE14).
“Instead, Saddiq changed his mind by transferring the RM100,000 into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account after GE14," she said, adding that Saddiq did issue a receipt for expenses incurred for GE14, but that did not mean the money came from his own funds.
There was no evidence to show that the source of the money used in the campaign came from Saddiq’s personal funds and needed to be repaid, and that his defence regarding the reimbursement was just an afterthought.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Judge Ahmad Zaidi set April 24 for case management to set a date for the verdict.
On November 9, 2023, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced Saddiq, 32, to seven years imprisonment, two strokes of the cane, and an RM10 million fine after finding him guilty on four charges of abetting CBT, misusing property, and money laundering involving Armada’s funds.
He was convicted of abetting former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who had been entrusted with RM1 million of party funds, in committing CBT by misappropriating the money at CIMB Bank Berhad, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Sentral 2, on March 6, 2020.
The former minister was also found guilty of misusing RM120,000 from an Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise account with Maybank Islamic Berhad by directing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the funds at Malayan Banking Berhad, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya, between April 8 and April 21, 2018.
Additionally, the former Armada Chief was convicted on two counts of money laundering, involving the transfer of RM50,000 each from his Maybank Islamic Berhad account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account, believed to be illegal proceeds, at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and June 19, 2018.
— Bernama
