Zahid kekal lepas dan bebas 40 pertuduhan

TIMBALAN Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi kekal dilepaskan dan dibebaskan atas 40 pertuduhan menerima rasuah daripada Syarikat Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) berhubung Sistem Visa Luar Negara (VLN), di Mahkamah Rayuan di sini pada Khamis.

Panel tiga hakim dipengerusikan Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali memutuskan demikian selepas pihak pendakwaan memberitahu, mahu menarik balik permohonan rayuan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam yang membebaskan Ahmad Zahid, 71, pada 23 September 2022 lalu.

“Setelah pendakwaan menarik balik rayuan-rayuan terhadap responden, dengan ini mahkamah membatalkan semua rayuan,” katanya yang bersidang bersama Hakim-hakim, Datuk Azman Abdullah dan Datuk Azmi Ariffin.

Semasa prosiding, Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim berkata, Ahmad Zahid selaku responden telah mengemukakan dua representasi kepada Jabatan Peguam Negara (AGC) pada 26 Januari 2023 dan 7 Februari lalu.

Yusaini Amer berkata, setelah meneliti keseluruhan kes, AGC mendapati tiada keterangan menunjukkan responden telah menggunakan jawatan, untuk menganugerahkan kontrak-kontrak itu.

Menurutnya, kontrak tersebut telah dianugerahkan sebelum responden menjawat jawatan Menteri Dalam Negeri.

Selain itu beliau berkata, berdasarkan dapatan Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi yang melepaskan Menteri Kemajuan Desa dan Wilayah (KKDW) tersebut, sumber wang yang dikatakan diterima itu, tidak disiasat.

“Beberapa individu dikatakan menjadi sumber dana dari luar negara, turut tidak dipanggil ketika siasatan mahupun perbicaraan.

“Tiada juga bukti dikemukakan mengenai proses kemasukan tiga saksi ke kediaman responden,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, ia termasuk tiada keterangan yang menunjukkan wang telah diserahkan oleh saksi-saksi kepada responden.

Susulan itu beliau berkata, setelah mempertimbangkan dua representasi terbabit, dengan mengambil kira dapatan fakta hakim bicara, AGC mendapati ada asas undang-undang dan fakta yang kukuh untuk mengekalkan keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi.

“Sehubungan itu, Peguam Negara menarik balik kesemua rayuan yang difailkan di sini,” katanya.

Pada Jun 2019, Ahmad Zahid didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen Shah Alam, Selangor atas 40 pertuduhan menerima rasuah daripada UKSB berhubung Sistem VLN.

Ia membabitkan 33 pertuduhan menerima rasuah berjumlah SG$13.56 juta (RM47.08 juta) daripada UKSB untuk dirinya sebagai Menteri Dalam Negeri bagi menyambung kontrak syarikat itu sebagai pengendali perkhidmatan Pusat Sehenti (OSC) di China dan Sistem VLN serta bagi mengekalkan perjanjian kontrak untuk membekalkan sistem bersepadu VLN kepada syarikat yang sama oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri.

Pertuduhan dibuat mengikut Seksyen 16(a)(B) Akta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) 2009 dan boleh dihukum di bawah Seksyen 24(1) akta sama.

Bagi tujuh lagi pertuduhan, Ahmad Zahid didakwa memperoleh untuk dirinya SG$1.15 juta (RM4 juta), RM3.125 juta, 15,000 Swiss Franc (RM79,000) dan AS$15,000 (RM70,200) daripada syarikat sama yang mempunyai kaitan rasmi dengan tugas rasminya dan didakwa mengikut Seksyen 165 Kanun Keseksaan.

Kesemua perbuatan didakwa dilakukan di dua lokasi iaitu Seri Satria, Presint 16, Putrajaya dan Country Heights Kajang antara Oktober 2014 hingga Mac 2018.

Pada 23 September 2022, Presiden UMNO itu dilepaskan dan dibebaskan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam, selepas mendapati pihak pendakwaan gagal membuktikan kes prima facie terhadap Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu.

Pada 29 Disember tahun lalu, pendakwaan memfailkan petisyen rayuan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi yang membebaskan Ahmad Zahid daripada

40 pertuduhan menerima rasuah daripada UKSB untuk menyambung kontrak VLN dan Pusat Sehenti (OSC) di China.

Pendakwaan mengemukakan 14 alasan tertumpu kepada dapatan fakta dan undang-undang yang dibuat oleh Hakim, Datuk Mohd Yazid Mustafa, terhadap persoalan sama ada berlakunya pemberian dan penerimaan wang secara rasuah dalam kes itu.

Pendakwaan mendakwa, hakim itu terkhilaf daripada segi fakta dan undang-undang apabila memutuskan pendakwaan gagal membuktikan kes prima facie dan gagal menilai secara menyeluruh keterangan bagi membuktikan setiap elemen kesalahan dihadapi Ahmad Zahid selepas dibebaskan pada 23 September lalu.

Dalam kes ini, pendakwaan selaku perayu turut dihadiri Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Abdul Malik Ayob dan Zander Lim Wai Keong.

 

Court of Appeal affirms Zahid’s acquittal

THE Court of Appeal today upheld the High Court’s acquittal of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his foreign visa (VLN) system corruption case after the prosecution withdrew its appeal.

A three-member bench chaired by Justice Ruzima Ghazali struck out the appeal.

“We are striking out the matter since the public prosecutor has withdrawn the appeal,” he said.

Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin.

Zahid was charged with 33 counts of receiving bribes totalling S$13.6 million (RM42 million) from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd between 2014 and 2018 while he was home minister and deputy prime minister under the previous Barisan Nasional administration.

He was also charged with seven other counts of obtaining for himself the sums of S$1.15 million, RM3 million, 15,000 Swiss francs, and US$15,000 from the same company in connection with his official duties.

On Sept 23, 2022, Justice Yazid Mustafa, then a High Court judge, acquitted Zahid of all 40 charges after ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

Deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim informed the bench this morning that the attorney-general had decided not to pursue the appeal after considering the trial judge’s grounds of judgment and two representations sent on Zahid’s behalf.

He said the prosecution found no evidence to suggest that Zahid used his position to directly award contracts that were the subject matter of the charges.

“Evidence revealed that the contracts were awarded before the respondent (Zahid) became home minister (under the Barisan Nasional government). There was no room for abuse of power,” he said.

Yusaini also said the extensions of contracts appointing Ultra Kirana as the sole operator of the VLN system had followed all prescribed procedures.

He said the trial judge had also made several important findings of facts.

Yazid found that no probe was conducted by investigators into the money received. He also noted that no investigations were conducted on various individuals who were said to have provided funds sourced from overseas.

Yusaini also pointed to a finding that there was no evidence to support the suggestion that three prosecution witnesses had access to Zahid’s home.

“Further, there was no evidence that money was handed to Zahid due to the conflicting evidence of two prosecution witnesses,” he added.

Yusaini said the public prosecutor was of the opinion that there was strong support for the High Court ruling, adding that the appeal was withdrawn after giving due consideration to the finding of facts made by the trial judge.

Further, Yusaini said due consideration was also given to representations lodged on Zahid’s behalf on Jan 26, 2023 and Feb 7 this year.

Also appearing for the prosecution were deputy public prosecutors Abdul Malik Ayob and Zander Lin, while Zahid was represented by Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Hamidi Noh, Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Aiman Abdul Rahman.

Outside court, Zahid thanked his legal team who had worked hard to ensure that the two representations were accepted by the prosecution.

Hisyam said the prosecution’s submissions in seeking to withdraw the appeal were grounded on findings of fact made at trial.

“We are grateful the prosecution accepted the representations and decided to withdraw the appeal as informed to the court today,” he said.

 

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