Prejudicial To Use Rosmah S Case To Acquit Zahid Says Lawyer

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High Court Judge Yazid Mustafa used facts adduced in Rosmah Mansor’s case as a reference point in arriving at the conclusion that it was improbable for S$600,000 to fit into an envelope.PETALING JAYA: A lawyer said the judge who acquitted Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was wrong to use his client’s case as comparison as it was still the subject matter of an appeal.
Lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kader said the reference to facts in Rosmah Mansor’s solar energy project case was “premature”. Rosmah was found guilty of corruption by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 1.
In acquitting Zahid, Shah Alam High Court judge Yazid Mustafa said it was improbable that Zahid had received S$600,000 in an envelope as no sample of the envelope used was tendered as evidence.
Yazid then compared the case to Rosmah Mansor’s, where the evidence revealed that bribes paid to her in cash were put into two bags and two knapsacks.
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Akberdin said the facts surrounding the delivery of the money and other circumstantial evidence adduced were being challenged in Rosmah’s pending appeal to the Court of Appeal, and should not have been used by the judge in Zahid’s case.
“It is premature for the judge to make a comment as the appeal is ongoing. The impression he has given is that the (finding of fact that there were) two bags and two knapsacks with money was final when it is not.
“For a judge to conclude that (those findings) are correct is not right, as it is yet to be (evaluated by) the appeals court or the Federal Court,” he said.
Zahid, 69, had been accused of 33 counts of receiving bribes amounting to S$13.56 million (RM42 million) from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd between 2014 and 2018 while he was home minister. He was also charged with seven other counts of obtaining for himself the sums of S$1.15 million, RM3 million, 15,000 Swiss francs and US$15,000 from the same company in connection with his official duties.
Yesterday, the prosecutors filed an appeal against Zahid’s acquittal. - FMT

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