Former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been acquitted and discharged of four charges involving RM200 million, but still faces three counts of abuse of position involving RM25.3 million in alleged bribes, Bernama reported.
High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin made the ruling today after deputy public prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib applied to discontinue the four charges under Section 254(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The charges involved one count of using his position as Prime Minister and Bersatu president to obtain a RM200 million bribe for the party from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, linked to the Jana Wibawa project.
The alleged offence was said to have taken place at the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangunan Perdana Putra, Putrajaya, between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.
Muhyiddin was charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which carries a maximum 20-year jail term and a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
He was also facing three charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM200 million, involving funds allegedly deposited into Bersatu’s AmBank and CIMB Bank accounts in Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur between February 2021 and July 2022.
Those charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b), read together with Section 87(1), of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
During today’s proceedings, Ahmad Akram initially sought an order for Muhyiddin to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on the four charges after reviewing the overall position of the case.
“To avoid any confusion, the prosecution’s application today is limited to these charges only and does not involve the other charges the accused still faces,” he said.
Judge Noor Ruwena said the prosecution’s invocation of Section 254(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code indicated that it no longer intended to pursue the charges.
“In this case, the prosecution gave no reason for the application other than stating that it does not intend to proceed with the charges. However, the matter was left to the court’s discretion.
“Accordingly, the court discharges and acquits the accused of the four charges,” she said.
The Pagoh MP will continue to face three charges of abuse of position involving RM25.3 million in alleged bribes.
