PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, are set to return to court to answer their charges of corruption.
This is after the Court of Appeal today unanimously allowed the prosecution's appeal to reinstate the couple's corruption charges involving RM2.8 million.
On Sept 7, last year, High Court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid acquitted and discharged the couple after allowing their applications for a revision against the Sessions Court's decision ordering them to enter their defence.
A three-member panel led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim said it was established in law that an accused cannot appeal a decision when they were ordered to call for defence.
Zaini when reading the judgment said the (Sessions) court's findings at this state (end of prosecution) were not subject to appeal, as they do not constitute a final resolution of the respondents.
"Requesting a revision is essentially the same as filing an appeal against them.
"The due process of the trial must continue allowing the respondents (Bung Mokhtar and Zizie Izette) to present their defence.
"The decision to acquit or to call for defence would have been arrived at after a maximum evaluation exercise by the trial judge.
"Once the court finds that the prosecution has made up a prima facie case against the accused, it shall call upon the accused to enter his defence because the court has no other option," he said.
Zaini said the respondent's application is an interlocutory appeal disguised as a revision application, challenging the court's determination of a prima facie case against them.
He said the court's decision could only be challenged through an appeal after the trial concludes, specifically at the end of the defence case.
"We would further add that the High Court's findings on the learned Sessions Court judge's decision to call for defence was premature," he added.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How appeared for the prosecution while lawyers M. Athimulan and Datuk K. Kumaraendran appeared for the couple.
The court set Dec 5 for the next case management before the Sessions Court.
On May 3, 2019, Bung Moktar pleaded not guilty to three charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM2.8 million to get approval for Felcra to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trust funds.
According to the first charge, Bung Moktar, the then non-executive Felcra chairman, had accepted bribes of RM2.2 million in cash from Public Mutual investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette.
For the second charge, he was accused of accepting bribes of RM262,500 in cash from Madhi for a similar purpose.
Bung Moktar was also accused of accepting a bribe of RM337,500 in cash from Public Mutual investment agent Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar on June 19, 2015.
He was accused of committing the first offence at the Taman Melawati Public Bank branch on June 12, 2015.
The second and third offences were allegedly committed at the same location at 12.16pm and 12.28pm, respectively, on June 19, 2015.
Zizie Izette, 45, pleaded not guilty to three charges of abetting her husband in the matter at the same place, date and time.