Deceased Daim Acquitted Of Asset Disclosure Charge

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Daim Zainuddin was discharged and acquitted of an asset disclosure charge, following his death last week.
Today, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court granted the acquittal following an application by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin for the case to be withdrawn.
Yesterday, Na’imah Abdul Khalid, 66, urged prosecutors to continue the case, so that the defence team can help clear her deceased husband’s name in court.
Na’imah Abdul KhalidOn Wednesday last week, the 86-year-old tycoon passed away at Assunta Hospital after being warded in the intensive care unit for a stroke.
Daim’s criminal charge was over alleged failure to abide by a MACC notice to disclose his assets.
During this morning’s open court proceedings, judge Azura Alwi allowed defence counsel Gurdial Singh Nijar’s application for the former finance minister to be acquitted.
Daim’s lawyer initially argued for the criminal court to continue with the case in spite of prosecutors not wanting to, and that in the alternative the deceased should be acquitted.
“The late Daim is discharged and acquitted per Section 254 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Condolences to the family of the deceased. May the deceased be placed among the righteous (solihin),” the judge said as Na’imah looked on during proceedings.
Application to withdraw
Earlier today, Wan Shaharuddin informed the court that the prosecution wished to withdraw the criminal case against Daim, and left it to judge whether to grant DNAA (discharge not amounting to an acquittal) or acquittal and discharged.
Wan Shaharuddin stressed that in spite of the Daim family’s wish for the criminal case to proceed, there is no corpus (body) attached to the criminal charge anymore.
Gurdial Singh NijarHowever, Gurdial countered that the criminal case ought to be allowed to proceed as it was the accused’s dying wish.
“Daim’s wish as he lay sick in bed was that he needed to clear his name from what he perceived was a baseless charge against him, brought for a reason he himself cannot explain,” Gurdial submitted.
The lawyer pointed out that if the criminal charge is withdrawn, then the deceased would not be in a position to exonerate himself and the family would be placed in a quandary.
Gurdial said a DNAA ruling is not suitable as there is no possibility of the deceased being recharged in future.
Long, storied career
The business tycoon was first appointed as the finance minister in 1984 by the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and served until 1991.
He was appointed to the office again for a second tenure in 1999, also by Mahathir, before he resigned in 2001.
Daim was previously an Umno member and was an MP for five consecutive terms from 1982 until 1999 (Kuala Muda for one term, and Merbok for four).
Known as a close ally to Mahathir, he was sacked from the party after Daim and several others appeared at a Pakatan Harapan mega ceramah in Malacca in 2018.
MACC probe
The retired politician recently came under the spotlight again after MACC launched investigations against him for suspected graft and money laundering.
His criminal case before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court dealt with assets encompassing 38 firms, 25 pieces of land and property, seven luxury vehicles, and two investment fund accounts.
On top of this, the anti-graft agency reportedly seized Ilham Tower, a high commercial-value building located in Kuala Lumpur, owned by Daim’s family.
Incidentally, besides facing a similar criminal asset disclosure case, Na’imah also has a pending civil court action against the Inland Revenue Board’s bid to compel her to pay over RM313 million in alleged tax arrears.
Validity challenge
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today has also fixed Jan 15 next year to hear Na’imah’s bid to challenge the validity of a provision under which she is facing the asset disclosure charge.
She seeks to refer to the Kuala Lumpur High Court the issue of whether Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009 violated her fundamental right against self-incrimination.
She wants the High Court to determine whether the provision infringes on her constitutional right against being compelled to produce incriminating evidence that could be used against her and her right to a fair trial.
Prosecutors claimed the assets linked to her alleged non-disclosure involved multiple lands, properties, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
According to the annexure attached to the charge, among the eight properties are Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur, a house in Bukit Tunku, as well as six plots of land - five in Kuala Lumpur and one in Penang.
The non-disclosure also allegedly involved two companies - Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd.
- Mkini

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