The corruption hearing of former Selangor state executive councillor Saidin Tamby has been postponed again due to his worsening health.

The politician's defence counsel Mohd Shafee Abdullah, however, told the Shah Alam Sessions Court today that his client was "serious in concluding the hearing" when asking for the hearing to be postponed to another date.

"He is more interested than I to finish the trial. He wants to show the court that he is not evading the trial. My advice for him has always been to testify and I don't see that changing," said Mohd Shafee.

The matter will be mentioned before Justice Suraya Othman on Sept 10. Previously, Saidin's health condition has resulted in two past hearings, on July 16 and Aug 1, to be postponed.

Saidin is charged under Section 3(a)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1961 for allegedly accepting RM1 million from Nusantara Network for assisting the company to secure state land at Lot 4287, Section 4, Batu Caves, Gombak. The court has ordered Saidin to enter his defence on June 8 but he has been unable to do so due to his ill-health.

Mohd Shafee said Saidin was treated first at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for internal stomach bleeding and a bleeding peptic ulcer.

"He was then released from HKL on Aug 2 and transferred to Hospital Selayang where he was diagnosed to be suffering from hypertension, diabetes and gout," said Mohd Shafee.

'Can still think and talk'

"His doctor at Hospital Selayang yesterday reported that he needed to be treated for all these symptoms and would have to be admitted for an indefinite period of time.

"They suspect that both his hypertension and his diabetes problems are caused by his gout," he added.

Justice Suraya however was reluctant to allow for another postponement and sought clarification as to when Saidin would be fit to attend the court hearing.

"We need to get specifics from the doctor who wrote the report. Gastric and his peptic ulcers do not need an operation and with gout he may not be able to walk but he can still think and talk. He should be able to come in a wheelchair," Justice Suraya said.

Shafee however, stressed that even as Saidin's ailments might seem typical, the severity of the sickness warranted hospitalisation.

"Everybody suffers from hypertension or any of these other sicknesses but in his case, it is serious enough for him to be in the hospital," he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Nordin Hassan later requested that a mention be set within the next few weeks so as to allow the prosecution time to look over the hospital reports.

If found guilty, Saidin faces a RM10,000 fine or a five-year maximum jail term or both.