Bung, wife to file for review of order to enter defence

Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin and his wife Zizie Izette Abdul Samad will file for a review of the Court of Appeal’s decision ordering them to enter their defence on corruption charges amounting to RM2.8 million.

Lawyer M Athimulan told Sessions Court judge Rosli Ahmad that the review application would be filed soon.

“We have been ordered by our clients to file the review application at the Court of Appeal,” said Athimulan, who is handling the case with lawyer Dev Kumaraendran, representing Zizie.

He said that after the review application has been filed, they will apply to the Session Court to postpone the defence hearing.

Deputy public prosecutor Fadhly Mohd Zamry then requested the defence submit in writing the request for the postponement of the trial but to maintain the dates that had been set for the hearing.

Rosli maintained the dates set for the trial - April 9 to 11, April 14 and 15 and May 5 and 6, 2025 - and fixed March 11 for mention.

Answerable case

On Nov 18 last year, the Court of Appeal ordered Bung and his wife Zizie to enter their defence on the three corruption charges after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against the couple’s acquittal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Sept 7, 2023.

On Sept 2, 2022, judge Rozina Ayob ordered Bung and Zizie to enter their defence on all three corruption charges after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them.

Bung, 65, who was then the non-executive chairperson of Felcra Berhad, was charged on May 3, 2019, with two counts of accepting bribes of RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.

He was alleged to have accepted bribes from Public Mutual investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid through Zizie Izette, 46, at Public Bank Taman Melawati Branch in Kuala Lumpur between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.

Bung was also charged with receiving RM337,500 in cash from unit trust consultant Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, under Zizie’s name, for the same reason and place on June 19, 2015.

Zizie was charged with three counts of abetting her husband over the matter at the same place, date and time.

- Bernama

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