KUALA LUMPUR: The trial of Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering involving Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB) funds, was postponed by the High Court on Wednesday (Aug 2) due to the Deputy Prime Minister needing to attend a Cabinet meeting.
According to Ahmad Zahid’s lawyer, Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, the defence had requested for the hearing to be postponed this morning. “We have applied for an adjournment this morning because Datuk Seri (Ahmad Zahid) has to attend a Cabinet meeting. The court has allowed today to be taken off, and the case will continue tomorrow,” said Hisyam.
The seventh defence witness, Ahmad Zahid’s former executive secretary Datuk Rosiah Osman, was scheduled to continue her testimony during today’s proceedings.
Ahmad Zahid, 70, is currently presenting his defence against 12 charges of criminal breach of trust, eight charges of corruption, and 27 charges of money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to YAB.
Last year, after 17 days of taking the witness stand and denying all charges against him, Ahmad Zahid completed his testimony on August 30. The trial was initially set to continue from April 10 to July, but it was postponed after Ahmad Zahid submitted a representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to drop the 47 charges.
The High Court has now scheduled hearings for this month, specifically from August 1 to 3, 7 to 10, and 21 to 24.
On the previous day, the AGC Trials and Appeals Division head, Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, informed the court that no decision had been made regarding Ahmad Zahid’s representation, as the AGC is still awaiting the findings of further investigations conducted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Special Task Force, regarding the new evidence submitted by the defence. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
