KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Nov 17 for a decision in the RM2 million corruption trial of former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
“I will deliver my decision at 10.30 am,” Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said after hearing submissions from both sides.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Julia Ibrahim while lawyer Datuk Tan Hock Chuan led the defence team.
The trial began on July 2, 2019, with 23 prosecuting witnesses, among them two former Kuala Lumpur mayors Tan Sri Ahmad Phesal Talib and Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz as well as director of Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd (AKSB) Tan Sri Chai Kin Kong, while the defence called four witnesses, including Tengku Adnan’s former political secretary Datuk Mohd Rafi Alli Hassan and Simpang Renggam UMNO Division head Datuk Zakaria Dullah.
The prosecution and defence submitted more than 80 exhibits, including application documents by AKSB for the development of the affordable houses in the Federal Territory, RM2 million cheque, bank statements, UMNO annual reports and estimated expenses for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.
On Oct 14 last year, the High Court ordered Tengku Adnan to enter his defence on the charge after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie in the case.
Tengku Adnan chose to testify under oath from the witness stand when the defence proceedings commenced last Jan 17 and completed giving his evidence on March 5.
Earlier today, Julia, in her submission, said the RM2 million received by Tengku Adnan from Chai was for his own use.
She said Tengku Adnan failed to refute the fact that the RM2 million was deposited into the CIMB bank account of Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd (THSB), in which the accused had an interest and is the largest shareholder in the company.
“There was no flow of the money from the account to UMNO or UMNO activities. The prosecution has succeeded in proving there was a deposit of RM2 million into the THSB account and there was no withdrawal of money from the THSB account to UMNO’s account,” she said.
She also said that the accused’s defence on the issue of UMNO’s official receipt regarding the alleged RM2 million political contribution was an afterthought.
“The absence of a carbon copy or inconsistencies of the dates between the serial numbers in the receipt book before and after the receipts indicate that the existence of an official receipt was a mere fabrication of the accused,” she said.
Tengku Adnan, 69, also known as Ku Nan, was charged in his capacity as a public servant, namely, the Federal Territories Minister then, with having accepted for himself RM2 million from Chai via a Hong Leong Islamic Bank cheque belonging to AKSB, which was later deposited into the CIMB Bank account of Tadmansori Holdings in which he had an interest, when it was known that Aset Kayamas had connection with his official duties.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Pusat Bandar Damansara branch of CIMB Bank Berhad, here, on June 14, 2016.
The Putrajaya MP was charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to two years or a fine, or both, if convicted. -Bernama
