KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here on Monday (Sept 4) granted Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s request for temporary release of his passport. Syed Saddiq sought the release to attend a youth leadership conference in Indonesia on Tuesday (Sept 5). Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid allowed the request after lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, representing Syed Saddiq, and deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin presented their arguments. The court ordered Syed Saddiq to return his passport by Sept 11.
Wan Shaharuddin objected to the application, citing a pending criminal case. However, Lim argued that the court had previously released Syed Saddiq’s passport in April for him to attend conferences in Switzerland and South Korea. Lim emphasized that Syed Saddiq is not a flight risk, given his position as a serving MP and his cooperation throughout the criminal trial.
Syed Saddiq applied on Sept 1 for temporary return of his passport from Sept 4 to Sept 11 to attend an international conference in Indonesia. The forum, titled “Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Matters Forum: Leading With Impact,” is organized by the American Embassy in Jakarta and US Mission to ASEAN. Syed Saddiq is scheduled to be one of the speakers.
Last year on Oct 28, Syed Saddiq was ordered to present his defense against charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of property, and money laundering. The prosecution successfully established a prima facie case against him. Syed Saddiq testified in his defense for two days in February this year, and five other individuals provided evidence as defense witnesses. Judge Azhar will announce the judgment on a date yet to be determined.
Syed Saddiq, as the former Armada chief, was charged for abetting Rafiq Hakim, who was entrusted with RM1mil in funds belonging to the wing, to commit criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the funds at CIMB Bank Bhd, Menara CIMB KL Sentral on March 6, 2020. He was also charged with misappropriating RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise between April 8 and 21, 2018. Additionally, he faces two counts of money laundering for two transactions of RM50,000 each believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
