KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today allowed an application by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to have his trial scheduled this afternoon and tomorrow postponed, as the former deputy prime minister had to undergo a Covid-19 screening.
Lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh representing Ahmad Zahid informed the court that his client underwent screening at the KPJ Tawakal Hospital here this afternoon.
“The results for the first screening came back negative, but the results for the second screening will only be known within 24 hours, which is tomorrow afternoon.
“As such, we are applying for this afternoon and tomorrow’s trial to be postponed and continued on Monday (Sept 28),“ he said during the proceedings before Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran said the prosecution had no objection to the application.
“However, the defence must immediately inform the court once the results of the second screening is in,“ she said.
Judge Sequerah granted the trial adjournment and set Sept 28 for the trial to resume.
According to the UMNO president’s official social media accounts, he had been in Sabah since last week for the Sabah state election campaign and had arrived here yesterday.
At this morning’s proceedings, Ahmad Zahid’s former executive secretary, Major Mazlina Mazlan@ Ramly told the court that she had overpaid Ahmad Zahid’s credit card bills using Yayasan Akalbudi cheques.
Mazlina, 42, said since she took over the executive secretary post from Datuk Rosiah Osman in 2011, all Yayasan Akalbudi cheque books and the Bagan Datuk MP’s personal cheques were kept by her.
“The cheque books were kept in a locked drawer in my office, but when the change in government took place in May 2018, I can’t recall and did not record or take note of who held on to the check butts,“ she said when cross examined by Ahmad Zahid’s lawyer, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal on the 41st day of the trial.
Ahmad Zaidi: Why did you use three cheques to pay for one credit card bill?
Mazlina: The bank has no complaints over this.
The 90th prosecution witness agreed with the lawyer that each cheque book contained 100 cheques.
Ahmad Zaidi: Did you keep, record, or make a note of the payments made with the cheques (Yayasan Akalbudi and Ahmad Zahid’s personal cheques)
Mazlina: No, I did not.
Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges, with 12 of them involving criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi. -Bernama
