KUALA LUMPUR: The social media influencer couple embroiled in allegations of misappropriating donations, remain in custody following the High Court’s dismissal of their application to set aside the remand order issued by the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin dismissed the review application filed by Mohd Hazalif Mohd Hazani, 30, also known as Alif Teega, and his wife Aisyah Hijanah Azhari, 26, after finding that the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court had complied with Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code in granting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) request for the remand.
“The issue of absence of nexus between the applicants and the alleged offence under investigation lacks merit, and any offences committed by the applicants, if any, can only be determined after the investigation is completed.
“The MACC should be allowed to complete their investigation, and the remand order issued by the magistrate against them is valid. Therefore, the application for review is dismissed,“ said the judge.
Earlier, the couple’s lawyer, Abd Rahim Ali, argued that his clients were not affiliated with any public body as stipulated under Section 3 of the MACC Act, which allows them to be investigated under Section 23 of the same Act.
“The shareholders in Hijanah Haul Holdings Sdn Bhd are only the first and second suspects (Mohd Hazalif and Aisyah Hijanah). The members of the company are also not public officials, and we argue that there is no connection between the two suspects and the alleged offence.
“Due to the absence of any connection, the remand order issued by the Magistrate’s Court should be set aside,“ he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Ahmad Akram Gharib stated that Section 23 is only the basis for investigation and does not necessarily mean the suspects will be charged under the section.
“Section 23 of the MACC Act is merely the starting point for investigations based on the information obtained.
“This review application is premature because there is no basis to claim that the investigation has concluded and that there are no offences under this section,“ he said, adding that the remand procedure is crucial to determine whether any offences have been committed by the two applicants.
Meanwhile, DPP Law Chin How emphasised that MACC applied for the remand due to allegations that the JomDonate platform was used by both influencers to collect donations from the public.
“So, it involves public funds being channeled into that platform. The fact that there are companies authorised to collect donations needs to be thoroughly investigated,“ he said.
Yesterday, Magistrate Irza Zulaikha Rohanuddin granted the MACC’s application to remand Mohd Hazalif and Aisyah Hijanah for four days until July 14 to facilitate investigations under Section 23 of the MACC Act.
The investigation concerns allegations of misappropriating funds donated via the crowdfunding platform known as JomDonate.
