KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here has fixed Sept 27 for the mention of f Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s RM232.5 million bribery case related to the Jana Wibawa project.
Judge Azura Alwi set this date after Muhyiddin’s lawyer, Chetan Jethwani, notified the court that the Court of Appeal had rescheduled its decision on the Bersatu president’s application to review the decision that reinstated four charges of abuse of power against him.
The Court of Appeal had originally set Aug 20 for the review decision, but this was later postponed to Sept 11.
During today’s proceedings, Muhyiddin was represented by Chetan, while deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin appeared for the prosecution.
Last year on Aug 15, High Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted and discharged Muhyiddin of the four charges, citing that they were vague and lacked specific details of the alleged offences.
However, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) appealed this decision and on Feb 28, the Court of Appeal panel, consisting of Judges Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk S.M Komathy Suppiah, allowed the prosecution’s appeal, reinstating the four charges and ordered the case to be returned to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
On March 27, Muhyiddin applied for a review, claiming that the previous Court of Appeal panel’s decision was null, as it was made without the jurisdiction required under Section 50(1) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
Muhyiddin, as prime minister and president of Bersatu at the time, was charged with using his position to obtain RM232.5 million in bribes from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd and Datuk Azman Yusoff for his political party.
He is accused of committing the act at the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangunan Perdana Putra, Federal Government Administration Centre in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.
He faces two additional charges of receiving RM195 million gained from illegal activities from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which was deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account.
These acts were allegedly committed at CIMB Bank, Menara KL Branch, Jalan Stesen Sentral between Feb 25 and July 16, 2021, and between Feb 8 and July 8, 2022