PUTRAJAYA: An appeal hearing against the acquittal of Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad on corruption charges has been postponed to October.
This was after a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal adjourned today's proceedings as one of Bung Moktar's lawyers was on medical leave.
Earlier, Zizie's lawyer, Datuk K. Kumaraendran, told the court that M. Athimulan, who appeared for Bung Mokhtar, was unwell following his return from India earlier this month.
Kumaraendran said that Athimulan was initially admitted to a hospital in Tamil Nadu, India, and continued to suffer from irregular heartbeats, even though he was now back home.
"The doctor has advised him to seek further medical consultation," he said before seeking a postponement to November this year.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How did not object to the application.
However, judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, who led the panel, declined for the hearing to start in November, stating that it was too long.
"The lower courts are in limbo and are awaiting a decision by this court," he said.
The panel then fixed Oct 9 for hearing. Other judges on the bench were Datuk Hashim Hamzah and Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.
The Kinabatangan member of parliament and his wife were acquitted and discharged by the High Court on Sept 7, 2023.
The High Court had allowed their revision applications to overturn the Sessions Court's earlier order for them to enter their defence on the charges.
The prosecution filed its appeal on Sept 18. In May 2019, Bung Moktar, the former Felcra chairman, was slapped with two charges of accepting bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra's approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
He was accused of accepting bribes from Public Mutual Berhad's investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette at Public Bank's Taman Melawati branch between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
Zizie Izette was charged with three counts of abetting her husband at the same place, date and time.