Paul Phua, the man that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi penned a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his defence, will get a status hearing today in Las Vegas (Jan 22, US time) to decide his fate.

This is a type of preliminary trial where the prosecution, defence and the charged meet with the judge before the main trial.

In the status hearing, the judge will review the case and the lawyers would discuss matters such as evidence, scheduling of hearing on motions filed and possible plea offers.

The judge might also set a trial date during the status hearing, if no amicable settlement is reached between the prosecution and defence. 

Paul Phua ( left ) and his son, Darren Phua are facing charges of illegal gambling in a United States court in Nevada, after being raided by the authorities last year in Las Vegas casino Caesars Palace for operating an illegal online sports betting ring.

On bail with GPS bracelets

The Phuas are currently out on bail and awaiting a status hearing that is to be held on Jan 22, the US Attorney’s Office said in an email to Malaysiakini .

Las Vegas Review Journal reported that Phua and son were released under the condition of wearing GPS ankle bracelets while residing at the home of a Las Vegas doctor.

In addition to the US$2.5 million cash, the elder Phua has put up his US$48 million Gulfstream jet as collateral.

According to FBI notes, the Phuas' bail currently has been reduced from a house arrest to a curfew imposed from 10pm to 11am daily. 

They were among eight people arrested in a raid at the Las Vegas casino last year. However five others have pleaded guilty while one defendant was released.

The five offenders, including another Malaysian citizen, Richard Yong, were served hefty fines and kicked out of the US on a five-year unsupervised probation.

The Phuas pleaded not guilty to the crime and instead claimed entrapment charges, contending that FBI agents conducted a warrantless search before the raid to gather evidence.

Phuas also claimed he does not have ties with the 14K triad, which was one of the other substantial information used by the FBI to obtain the warrant to raid the rooms in Caesars Palace.

This is where Zahid’s letter, which was addressed to FBI deputy director Mark F Giuliano, comes into play.

The letter was written to state that Phua was not in associated with the Hong Kong-based 14K triad and was used as defence evidence to invalidate earlier information furnished by Malaysian police to the FBI, linking Phua with the triad.

However, Zahid's letter was retracted on the same day it was submitted, following objections on technical grounds raised by the prosecution.

Zahid, who has been receiving flak from various factions in Malaysia for penning the letter, said he wrote it at the request of Phua’s lawyers in US.

When the issue gathered publicity in the country, after Zahid’s letter was published, Phua’s lawyer in the country, Muhammad Shafee Abudllah, said the minister’s letter was meant to correct a “big mistake” by the Malaysian police regarding Phua.

The police in turn defended their findings and denied that Phua had ever assisted them in national security matters, as claimed by Zahid in his letter. 

Ironically, Zahid later said that Phua did assist on national security matters, but he refused to divulge any detail, saying the projects were classified "top secret" and protected under the Official Secrets Act.