KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today ordered incumbent Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to enter his defence on four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of assets and money laundering.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid made the decision after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against Syed Saddiq, 29, at the end of the prosecution's case.
Following is the chronology of the case:
July 22, 2021 - Syed Saddiq was charged with CBT involving RM1 million belonging to a political party and misusing RM120,000 in donations for the 14th General Election (GE14) at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
Aug 5, 2021 - Syed Saddiq was charged at the Johor Bahru Sessions Court with two counts of money laundering amounting to RM100,000, and the court allowed the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to be tried together with the CBT case.
Aug 23, 2021 - Syed Saddiq applied for the four charges to be transferred and tried at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Nov 25, 2021 - High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed the application.
Jan 19, 2022 - Syed Saddiq was advised by judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan to be more careful when issuing statements on social media regarding his court case.
March 24, 2022 - The prosecution filed two amended charges against Syed Saddiq in connection with the CBT charge involving RM1 million and misappropriation of RM120,000 belonging to the Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada), Syed Saddiq claimed trial to both charges.
June 21, 2022 - The first day of Syed Saddiq’s trial before Judicial Commissioner (JC) Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid.
July 4, 2022 - JC Azhar reminded all parties not to issue any statements or comments on the case.
July 7, 2022 - The defence filed an application to impeach the credibility of a key witness, Rafiq Hakim Razali, due to discrepancies in his witness statement and oral testimony in court, but the application was dismissed.
July 8, 2022 - Syed Saddiq apologised in the High Court for commenting on the ongoing trial of his case on his social media site.
July 21, 2022 - JC Azhar reminded the public not to go overboard when making statements on the case on social media.
July 22, 2022 - Syed Saddiq again sought to impeach the credibility of Rafiq Hakim as a witness, but it was also dismissed by the court.
Sept 27, 2022 - The prosecution closed its case after calling 30 witnesses.
Oct 6, 2022 - Submission by the prosecution and defence on the four charges made against Syed Saddiq. -Bernama
