Former Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Cleared of Graft Charges

Mr Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman had appealed against his conviction and sentence for abetment to commit criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds and two counts of money laundering.

Malaysia’s former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq acquitted of all graft charges

PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia’s Court of Appeal on June 25 acquitted former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman in a RM1.2 million (S$360,000) graft case involving funds from the youth wing of his former political party.

Mr Syed Saddiq was previously chief of Armada, the youth wing of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, also known as Bersatu.

A three-judge panel, chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, unanimously allowed Mr Syed Saddiq’s appeal after finding that the trial judge had committed errors that warrant intervention.

Other judges on the panel were Justices Azman Abdullah and Noorin Badaruddin.

In the decision, read by Justice Noorin, the appellate court found a lack of judicial appreciation of the defence case, resulting in non-direction by the trial judge.

“It is not sufficient for the trial judge to say he had considered or evaluated the evidence when such consideration could not be found in his judgment,” Justice Noorin stated.

Mr Syed Saddiq had appealed against his conviction and sentence for abetment to commit criminal breach of trust (CBT) by misappropriating RM1 million from Armada funds, misappropriation of RM120,000, and two counts of money laundering involving RM50,000 each.

Justice Noorin noted that the abetment charge must fall as there was no evidence that the key prosecution witness, former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, had withdrawn the RM1 million dishonestly.

The witness admitted to withdrawing the money from Armada’s funds as he was following Mr Syed Saddiq’s instructions.

“Causing, commanding or instructing someone to withdraw the money cannot be said to dispose of the money. The act of withdrawal does not fit actus reus,” Justice Noorin explained, using the Latin phrase for guilty act.

The panel also found that the trial judge erred by not questioning who owned the money.

“We find that the RM120,000 belongs to no other person but the appellant and, as such, no offence under Section 403 of the Penal Code was committed by the appellant,” Justice Noorin added.

Regarding the money laundering charges, the court found that no findings were made by the trial judge about the appellant’s defence that the proceeds were not from unlawful activity.

“There was no consideration of the appellant’s defence that he had no reason to believe or suspect that the RM100,000 transferred into his ASB account were proceeds from unlawful activity,” she said, referring to Amanah Saham Bumiputera, a unit trust fund.

On the defence’s argument that Rafiq tailored his evidence to appease the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the court found merit in the contention that witnesses were pressured, suggesting MACC might have exerted pressure.

Meanwhile, Justice Ahmad Zaidi stated that the court allowed Mr Syed Saddiq’s appeal as it found the High Court conviction to be unsafe.

“The conviction and sentence are therefore set aside,” he said.

On Nov 9, 2023, High Court judge Azhar Abdul Hamid found Mr Syed Saddiq guilty of four charges, including abetting in CBT, misappropriation of funds, and money laundering involving RM1.2 million.

The former minister was given a sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, a RM10 million fine, and two strokes of the cane for all charges.

He was charged with abetting Rafiq, who had been entrusted with RM1 million of Armada’s funds, to commit CBT by misappropriating the funds.

On the second charge, Mr Syed Saddiq was accused of misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s Maybank Islamic account by making Rafiq dispose of the money.

Mr Syed Saddiq was also charged with two counts of money laundering via transactions of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic account into his ASB account.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.