AGC says four charges against Muhyiddin dropped to save Jana Wibawa prosecution

The Attorney-General's Chambers said its decision to halt prosecution against Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin in the Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd case was to safeguard three other charges levelled against the former premier.

The justification comes after the AGC caused a stir when it applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in the Bukhary Equity case, in which Muhyiddin (below) was accused of using his position as premier to obtain RM200 million in gratification.

The DNAA application then led to the High Court granting a full acquittal on the four charges involved.

In a statement last night, the AGC said continuing prosecution in the Bukhary Equity case carried clear litigation risks.

"This includes the risk of compromising strategy and evidence on the other charges still faced by the accused (Muhyiddin)," it said.

"In such a situation, the prosecution needed to see the importance of the whole case, and not just one (set) of charges in isolation."

It added that a prosecutor's duty is not just to defend any case no matter the circumstance, but to ensure that only charges with a sufficient evidentiary basis and that can be sustained in court are proceeded with.

However, it denied that this meant the four charges were without basis, or that the transactions in question did not occur.

The AGC did not explain what changed in the Bukhary Equity case or how it could impact the three other charges against Muhyiddin linked to the Jana Wibawa project.

‘Leaked’ document

The decision to apply for a DNAA came a day after the defence produced former Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad’s witness statement during trial on Monday.

However, media reports from the trial did not highlight any issues regarding Adam Radlan that day.

Instead, it appeared that the defence only questioned why Adam Radlan (below) was charged and not fellow businessperson Azman Yusoff, despite both being investigated in the same case.

An MACC officer had subsequently lodged a police report against the defence for allegedly acquiring a leaked document.

The defence denied this accusation in court yesterday, and the officer then apologised and retracted the report.

It is not clear if this had anything to do with the prosecution's decision.

Adam Radlan is a prosecution witness in Muhyiddin's remaining Jana Wibawa case, where the former premier is accused of using his position to obtain RM25.3 million in bribes for the party from three companies - Nepturis Sdn Bhd, Mamfor Sdn Bhd, and KCJ Engineering Sdn Bhd.

Adam Radlan himself had previously been charged with 12 corruption and money laundering charges related to the Jana Wibawa project, a Covid-19 stimulus initiative to help bumiputera contractors.

However, the case was dropped after he paid a compound of RM4.1 million.

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