PUTRAJAYA, March 20 — Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s appeal against his conviction and sentence for corruption will continue on April 17 with the resumption of the prosecution’s arguments.
Today was the second of a scheduled two-day hearing before the Court of Appeal for Syed Saddiq’s appeal against his conviction and sentence on breach of trust and money laundering charges.
During today’s hearing, deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Seri Wan Shahauddin Wan Ladin rejected the defence’s claim of witness intimidation.
“As a trustee of the (Bersatu Armada) account he should have known that using the funds for personal or political gain was a violation of his fiduciary duty,” said Wan Shaharuddin.
Wan Shaharuddin also argued that Syed Saddiq failed to provide any credible explanation for why he believed he could use the Armada funds for his own purposes.
The DPP noted that Syed Saddiq did not challenge the evidence presented by the prosecution, particularly the testimony of former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali who turned star witness for the prosecution.
Rafiq previously testified that Syed Saddiq had ordered the withdrawal of RM1,000,000 from the Armada account. The prosecutor said that Syed Saddiq’s failure to challenge this evidence undermines his defence.
The court then adjourned proceedings to April 17 for the DPP to resume his submissions, as the latter only managed to submit for the first charge.
Syed Saddiq was represented by Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abidin and Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.
Syed Saddiq was sentenced to seven years in jail and two strokes of the cane for multiple charges including abetting criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property, and money laundering on November 9, 2023.
The former Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) president received a three-year sentence and one stroke of the cane for abetting the misuse of RM1 million from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Youth wing Armada’s funds.
He was also sentenced to two years and one stroke of the cane for misappropriating RM120,000 from a Maybank Islamic account linked to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise.
Additionally, Syed Saddiq was fined RM5 million for each of two money laundering charges, with a default penalty of two years in jail per offence.
During today’s appeal, it was heard before a three-member panel consisting of Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Haji Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
