PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today dismissed former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s (pix) appeal to consolidate his 12 criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges to only three charges in his trial involving funds belonging to Yayasan Alkalbudi.
A three-member bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed in ruling that there was no contravention of section 153 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code said the section was not a mandatory provision.
“We therefore agree on this issue with the Court of Appeal that it is not mandatory for all 12 charges of CBT to be amalgamated or consolidate to only three charges,“ he said when dismissing Ahmad Zahid’s appeal.
Section 153 (2) states that when an accused is charged with criminal breach of trust, it shall be sufficient to specify the gross sum in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed and the dates between which the offence is alleged to have committed, without specifying particular items or exact dates, and that the charge may be deemed to be a charge of one offence.
Justice Azahar said it was also not sufficient for Ahmad Zahid to say that he was prevented from getting a fair trial without showing in what way he was so deprived.
“On the complain that the charges preferred against him (Ahmad Zahid) would create adverse perception, we find no merit. The court will decide on all these charges based on admissable evidence in the court,“ he added. — Bernama
