A three-member panel led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif unanimously dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld their acquittal.
Justice Raus said after considering the submissions forwarded by the prosecution and defence, the court was of the view that the High Court judge did not make any error in law when making his decision and that he had given his reasons for acquitting them.
“There is no reason to alter the decision of the High Court,” said Justice Raus, who presided on the panel with Justices Datuk Mohtaruddin Baki and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh.
The prosecution was appealing against the acquittal of Jamaluddin (picture), 57, former Perak Tengah district councillor Zul Hassan, 51, and businessman Fairul Azrim Ismail, 35, and also former Bota assemblyman Usaili Alias, 61 (on four corruption charges).
The Court of Appeal panel also upheld the decision of the High Court to acquit Usaili on four charges of receiving bribes. However, he is not cleared yet as he has been ordered by the High Court to enter his defence with respect to three other corruption charges.
Outside the court, Jamaluddin told reporters that he accepted the decision of the court.
On what he would do after this, Jamaluddin said he would continue to serve the people in his constituency as long as the Perak state assembly was not dissolved.
He said he was still an independent Perak state assemblyman and had not decided whether to join Barisan National, adding that he also needed to think on whether to contest in the election.
On April 23, 2010, the Ipoh Sessions Court acquitted the four and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Jailu without their defence called.
They were charged with 10 counts of accepting and asking for bribes over a RM180 million housing development project in Seri Iskandar near Ipoh.
They were alleged to have committed the offences at the office of the Perak state secretary, Restoran Kluang Station Cafe in Medan Istana, Bandar Ipoh Raya here, and Aquarias Restaurant & Bar, Level 4, Summit Hotel, Bukit Mertajam, Penang, between August 14 and 19, 2008.
Zul and Fairul were also slapped with charges of sex bribes when they allegedly accepted the sexual services of Chinese nationals at Sri Sayang Apartment (Seaview Agency) in Jalan Batu Ferringhi, Penang, on August 14, 2008.
A sixth person, former Perak Development Corporation technician Ruslan Sahat, was also charged but died in late 2008 and charges against him were dropped.
The Ipoh High Court on April 22 last year dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld the acquittal of Jamaluddin, Zul and Fairul but ordered Osman to enter his defence.
The High Court also upheld Usaili’s acquittal on four charges of receiving bribes. However, the High Court ordered Usaili to enter his defence with respect to three other corruption charges.
— Bernama
Source : The Malaysian Insider
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