KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today set April 9 to hear the applications by Kinabatangan Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad to stay their defence trial on three corruption charges totalling RM2.8 million.
Judge Rosli Ahmad set the date after lawyer Teh See Khoon, representing the couple, informed the court that the defence had applied for a review of the Court of Appeal’s decision ordering his clients to enter their defence on the charges.
“We (the defence) filed it last March 21 at the Court of Appeal, but it is still in process. The defence has also applied to stay the trial in this court (Sessions Court),“ said the lawyer.
Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette were exempted from attending the mention of the case today.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry confirmed the matter and requested that the trial date, previously set for April 9, be maintained.
“The applicants (Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette) have filed a review at the Court of Appeal. Therefore, I propose that the hearing of the application to stay the trial be set for April 9, so there is no need to set another date,“ said Mohamad Fadhly and Teh did not object to it.
On Nov 18 last year, the Court of Appeal ordered Bung Moktar and his wife Zizie Izette to enter their defence on the three corruption charges after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against the couple’s acquittal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 7, 2023.
On Sept 2, 2022, Sessions Court judge Rozina Ayub ordered Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette to enter their defence on all three corruption charges after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them at the end of the prosecution case.
Bung Moktar, 65, who was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra Berhad, was charged on May 3, 2019, with two charges of accepting bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
He was alleged to have accepted the bribes from Public Mutual Berhad’s investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette, 46, at Public Bank Taman Melawati Branch here between 12.30 pm and 5 pm on June 12, 2015.
Bung Moktar was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from Public Mutual Berhad investment agent Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar through a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund (PITSEQ) under Zizie Izette’s name for the same purpose.
Zizie Izette was charged with three counts of abetting her husband over the matter at the same place, date and time.
