Court allows temporary return of Vida's passport

IPOH: The Sessions Court here today allowed the temporary return of the passport belonging to cosmetic millionaire Datuk Seri Dr Hasmiza Othman, or better known as Datuk Seri Vida, to enable her to travel abroad, including to perform the umrah.

In allowing the request by the owner and founder of Vida Beauty Sdn Bhd, judge Murtazadi Amran ordered the woman to hand back the passport to the court by Feb 6, at the latest.

Hasmiza's lawyer, Khairilazwar Khalil told the court that his client would leave for Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan 3 and would be in Guangzhou, China, from Jan 16 to 22 and then to perform the umrah from Jan 26 to Feb 3.

The court had set today for mention of Hasmiza's case, involving 16 charges for failing to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) amounting to RM4.2 million. Meanwhile, the court also set March 9 and 10 next year to hear the case.
Hasmiza was charged with committing the offence at the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, GST Division, Wisma Kastam, No 1 Jalan Tun Razak here between April 2015 and July 2016.

The charges are framed under Section 41(7) of the GST Act 2014, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or three years imprisonment, or both, on conviction. — Bernama