KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abd Samad, will learn tomorrow whether they will remain acquitted or face corruption charges.
The Court of Appeal is set to deliver its ruling on the prosecution's appeal to reinstate the couple's corruption charges involving RM2.8 million.
A three-member panel, led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and comprising Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, will give its verdict at 9am.
In their submissions, lawyers M. Athimulan and Datuk Seri K.Kumaraendran, who acted for Bung Moktar and Zizie Izette respectively, said the Sessions Court judge in its decision to call the couple to enter defence in 2022 had acted with material injustice, against the provision of law and caused a miscarriage of justice in that no prima facie case was established by the prosecution.
Athimulan said all evidence did not support the basic fact that Bung Moktar had received the RM2.8 million funds and this was confirmed by two prosecution witnesses that the latter had not solicited or received the monies.
The Attorney-General's Chambers, in its appeal, outlined seven key arguments challenging Azhar's decision, saying the judge had committed errors in exercising the power of review to clear the couple after the trial Sessions Court judge had ruled a prima facie case.
In September last year, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid acquitted and discharged the couple after ruling that the Sessions Court erred in ordering the couple to enter their defence on Sept 2 the previous year.
He had said the court found there was no evidence that two witnesses — Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar and Madhi Abdul Hamid — had given money to Bung Moktar through his wife.
On May 3, 2019, Bung Moktar was charged 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 bribes from Madhi, a Public Mutual Bhd's investment agent, through Zizie Izette at Public Bank's Taman Melawati Branch here 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.