COURT ALLOWS BUNG MOKTAR, ZIZIE IZETTE TO STAY DEFENCE PROCEEDINGS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (Bernama) -- The Sessions Court today allowed the application by Kinabatangan member of parliament Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, to stay the defence proceedings for their corruption charges involving RM2.8 million.

Judge Rosli Ahmad granted the application following a submission by counsel M. Athimulan, who informed the court that the prosecution had no objection to the stay pending the disposal of an application for judicial review challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision, which had ordered the couple to enter their defence.

"Both parties have filed their submissions," said Athimulan, who is representing the couple alongside counsel Datuk Seri K. Kumaraendran.

Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutors (DPP) Law Chin How and Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry confirmed that instructions were received this morning indicating no objection to the stay application.

"The trial was initially scheduled to proceed today. However, in light of the stay order, we respectfully request for the trial dates to be fixed after the disposal of the judicial review application.

“The Court of Appeal registrar has scheduled a case management on April 11 to fix the hearing date for the application for judicial review," he added.

Judge Rosli subsequently fixed new trial dates for Aug 18 to 20 and Sept 2 to 4 and 24 to 26, 2025. "Accordingly, the previously scheduled trial dates are hereby vacated," he said.

On Nov 18 last year, the Court of Appeal ordered Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad to enter their defence on 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 Ayob ruled that a prima facie case had been established against the accused at the close of the prosecution’s case and ordered them to enter their defence on all three charges.

Bung Moktar, 65, who was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra Berhad, was charged on May 3, 2019, with two counts of accepting RM2.2 million and RM262,500 in bribes as an inducement to secure Felcra’s approval for an RM150 million investment in Public Mutual unit trusts.

He allegedly received the bribes from Public Mutual Berhad investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette, 46, at Public Bank Berhad, Taman Melawati Branch, between 12.30 pm and 5.00 pm on June 12, 2015.

Bung Moktar also faces a charge of corruptly receiving RM337,500 in cash from another Public Mutual investment agent, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, through a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund account registered under Zizie Izette’s name, as an inducement for securing Felcra’s investment approval.

-- BERNAMA