Thursday, May 31, 2012

Ex-Immigration DG’s Acquittal of Bribery Charges Upheld


The High Court here upheld the decision by a Sessions Court to acquit Former Immigration Department director-general Datuk Wahid Md Don (pic) of charges of bribery.

High Court judge Justice Mohamed Zabidin Mohd Diah ruled Thursday that there was no error in the Sessions Court Judge Rosbiahanin Arifin's judgement that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.

Meeting his lawyer outside the court, Wahid, 59, thanked his counsel Datuk V Sithambaram for finally clearing his name.

"I had full faith in the judiciary system and am very grateful of the decision today," said a smiling Wahid.
The Session Court here acquitted Wahid of his charges on Oct 15 2010, however the MACC filed an appeal against the decision on Oct 18.

Wahid had pleaded not guilty on Aug 19, 2008, to having agreed to accept a RM60,000 bribe from businessman Datuk Low Chang Hian as part payment to expedite the approval of visa applications for 4,337 Bangladeshis, to enable them to enter Malaysia.

He was accused of committing the offence at Jalan Lembah Ledang, off Jalan Duta here, at 10.15pm on July 10, 2008, while still a director-general.

Low, who is the key witness, had admitted during the trial that a meeting was arranged by the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) on July 10, 2008, to trap Wahid.

He also agreed with Sithambaram's suggestion that Wahid had never asked for RM60,000 at anytime and admitted that he had been given the option by ACA to be either a witness in the trial or risk being charged in court.

Source : The Star

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