The High Court today allowed an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to file again a petition of appeal against the Sessions Court discharge and acquittal of Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg on a corruption charge.

Judicial commissioner Zainal Azman Abdul Aziz, in allowing the MACC to file the petition of appeal outside the permitted time frame, directed the MACC to file the petition of appeal within 14 days from today.

In his ruling, he said the MACC application was with basis and the two-day delay in filing the appeal was not "undue delay".

"The applicant (prosecution) stated having received a copy of the grounds of judgment and notes of evidence from the Sessions Court on Aug 21 and that the date to file the petition of appeal was Sept 4.

"The applicant filed the petition of appeal on Sept 4 and, on Sept 15, received a letter from the court stating that the petition of appeal had been filed outside the permitted time frame because the copy of the grounds of judgment and notes of evidence had been entered on Aug 19.

"The applicant did not have verification of this matter because the stamp of receipt was dated Aug 21. This matter was only known on Sept 15," he said.

Allegation of free dental treatment

On Sept 18, the prosecution filed a notice of motion for the court to allow it to appeal against the Sessions Court decision and to seek to file the petition of appeal again outside the permitted time frame.

The notice of appeal should have been filed on Sept 2 but it had been delayed by two days.

The MACC was represented by deputy public prosecutor Fariza Hamzah while Mirza was represented by counsel Saseedharan Menon and Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman.

The Sessions Court had on July 24 discharged and acquitted Mirza, 51, of a charge of receiving a bribe in the form of a dental treatment worth RM13,869 at Clinical Practice Prosthodontics Sdn Bhd in Taman Tun Dr Ismail between Jan 17 and July 26, 2005.

- Bernama