PUTRAJAYA: Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been acquitted of all corruption charges today, reports The New Straits Times.
A three-judge Court of Appeal panel led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim allowed the former youth and sports minister's appeal, setting aside his conviction, seven-year prison sentence, RM10 million fine, and two strokes of the rotan imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Nov 9, 2023, said the report.
Other members of the bench were Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
In a separate report today, Bernama quotes Justice Noorin, who read out the unanimous decision:
“We find that the prosecution failed to prove the abetment charge against the appellant (Syed Saddiq). The evidence presented was not credible and did not support the misappropriation charge under Section 403. Additionally, the money laundering charges under Amla could not be sustained.
“Therefore, the appellant is acquitted and discharged of all charges.”
Justice Noorin said the charge of criminal breach of trust (CBT) could not stand, as it was undisputed that the RM1 million withdrawn was used for Armada’s programmes and not misappropriated.
She added that Syed Saddiq could not be found guilty of abetment when the primary offence itself failed to meet the elements required under Section 405 of the Penal Code.
“The central question is whether the appellant’s alleged instruction to the 13th prosecution witness (PW13), Rafiq Hakim Razali, to withdraw the RM1 million amounted to abetment of CBT.
“In our view, directing someone to withdraw funds cannot be equated with ‘disposal’ or ‘conversion’ as defined under Section 405.
“There must be actual misappropriation. In this case, there is no evidence the appellant benefited personally from the funds, which were entirely used for Armada’s activities,” she said.
Regarding the RM120,000 misappropriation charge, Justice Noorin said the funds were raised for the appellant’s election campaign and, therefore, essentially belonged to him, said Bernama.
“PW13 never stated the RM120,000 belonged to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise (ABBE). He merely said the funds were deposited into an account under ABBE’s name.
“There is no evidence showing that the money belonged to ABBE or Armada. The prosecution also failed to prove that the account was used to receive donations meant for the organisation, rather than to support the appellant’s campaign,” she added.
Before adjourning proceedings, presiding judge Justice Ahmad Zaidi clarified that the decision was based solely on the appeal records and was not influenced by external views, including public opinion or social media comments.
Present in court were defence counsels Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden and Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, representing Syed Saddiq, and deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
