KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here has freed and acquitted a former political secretary to then-Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, of seven counts of asking and receiving bribes amounting to RM6.48 million.
Haijan Omar, the counsel representing the accused Mohd Azhar Che Dali, 53, told Berita Harian confirmed that the ruling was made by Judge Rozina Hashim last Friday.
"I can confirm that the KL Sessions Court made the ruling and freed him (of seven counts of corruption).
"Five cases were at the KL Sessions Court while two more were at the Shah Alam Sessions Court before all the cases were jointly heard at the Sessions Court here," he said.
In the first charge, Mohd Azhar was accused of soliciting a RM5 million bribe from meminta suapan RM5 juta daripada Pengarah Urusan Syarikat managing director, Elias Jemadi Tajudin, as an inducement to help the company get selected as a strategic partner and maintenance contractor for the Defence Ministry's investigative equipment.
The offence was committed at a hotel Jalan Ampang, Kampung Baru, on July 22, 2019.
In the four other charges, Mohd Azhar was accused of receiving RM1.35 million from Elias Jemadi via Ikaira Resources company director, Zainudin Abdul Majid and Aqsa Solutions Sdn Bhd director, Ahmad Hisham Mohd Tajuddin, for the same purpose.
The offences were allegedly committed in several locations in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, including the Defence Ministry parking lot, between Sept 2019 and Feb 2020.
At the Shah Alam court, Mohd Azhar faced two charges of receiving a bribe of RM130,000 from Elias Jemadi and Zainudin for the same purpose at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Sepang and Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, in 2019.
All the charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum 20 years' jail and fine no less than five times the bribe amount, or RM10,000, upon conviction.
