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Syed Saddiq freed of graft, money laundering charges
2 hours ago
V Anbalagan
Court of Appeal rules that there was a serious misdirection by the trial judge which warranted appellate intervention
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman ahead of his acquittal by the Court of Appeal today.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has unanimously acquitted Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of his corruption and money laundering charges.
In allowing the former youth and sports minister’s appeal, Justice Noorin Badaruddin said the appellant should have been acquitted without a defence being called during the trial.
Reading her judgment before a packed courtroom, she said the prosecution had failed to prove the ingredients of the predicate charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT) and dishonest misappropriation.
Noorin also said that the trial judge failed to appreciate Syed Saddiq’s defence and had treated it as a bare denial and afterthought.
“There was a serious misdirection by the trial judge which warranted appellate intervention,” she said.
Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azman Abdullah also heard the appeal.
Syed Saddiq was found guilty in November 2023 of abetting in CBT involving more than RM1 million belonging to Bersatu Youth, and another count of dishonestly misappropriating property totalling more than RM120,000 also belonging to the wing.
The former Bersatu Youth chief was also convicted on two counts of money laundering for transferring a total of RM100,000 to his personal account from a company linked to the youth wing, Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail and one stroke of the rotan on the CBT charge, two years and another stroke of the cane on the misappropriation charge, and another two-year jail term for each of the money laundering offences.
The Muda founder was also fined RM10 million.
The High Court had ordered that his jail terms for CBT and misappropriation run consecutively, and for those handed down for money laundering to run concurrently.
This meant that Syed Saddiq, the former Muda president, would have served seven years in jail. His sentence was stayed pending his appeal.
In allowing the former youth and sports minister’s appeal, Justice Noorin Badaruddin said the appellant should have been acquitted without a defence being called during the trial.
Reading her judgment before a packed courtroom, she said the prosecution had failed to prove the ingredients of the predicate charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT) and dishonest misappropriation.
Noorin also said that the trial judge failed to appreciate Syed Saddiq’s defence and had treated it as a bare denial and afterthought.
“There was a serious misdirection by the trial judge which warranted appellate intervention,” she said.
Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azman Abdullah also heard the appeal.
Syed Saddiq was found guilty in November 2023 of abetting in CBT involving more than RM1 million belonging to Bersatu Youth, and another count of dishonestly misappropriating property totalling more than RM120,000 also belonging to the wing.
The former Bersatu Youth chief was also convicted on two counts of money laundering for transferring a total of RM100,000 to his personal account from a company linked to the youth wing, Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise.
He was sentenced to three years’ jail and one stroke of the rotan on the CBT charge, two years and another stroke of the cane on the misappropriation charge, and another two-year jail term for each of the money laundering offences.
The Muda founder was also fined RM10 million.
The High Court had ordered that his jail terms for CBT and misappropriation run consecutively, and for those handed down for money laundering to run concurrently.
This meant that Syed Saddiq, the former Muda president, would have served seven years in jail. His sentence was stayed pending his appeal.
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