PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal was told today that the trial judge failed to appreciate that Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s defence was not merely a bare denial but a challenge supported by an explanation.

Syed Saddiq’s counsel Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said his client in his defence consistently maintained that he did not instruct nor command 11th prosecution witness (PW11) Ahmad Redzuan Mohamed Shafi or PW13 Rafiq Hakim Razali to withdraw RM1 million from the Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda’s bank account.

“The learned trial High Court judge (Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid) had erroneously dismissed Syed Saddiq’s defence as mere denials,“ the lawyer said at the hearing of Syed Saddiq’s appeal against his conviction and sentence on four offences related to the Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada) funds.

Hisyam said during the impugned meeting at the appellant’s residence, it had been collectively decided by the then top leadership of Armada and G5 that monies needed to be withdrawn for the purposes of rendering COVID-19 pandemic assistance and welfare for Ramadhan and Hari Raya.

“Consequently, PW13 was instructed to discuss with Armada’s Exco for the exact amount required for that purposes,“ he said.

The lawyer further submitted that the learned trial judge failed to consider that PW13 was under severe pressure while he was being investigated to such an extent that it can be strongly inferred that he tailored his evidence to appease the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“The gist of PW13’s evidence on this issue which is he (Rafiq Hakim) was under severe stress while he was being detained by the MACC for a period of six days and even told his wife, he expressly admitted that he has been broken down by the MACC during the remand period.

“He also admitted that he had shifted his evidence to focus on non-preparation of working papers after having realized that Article 24.8 of Bersatu’s constitution used the word “perbelanjaan” instead of the word “pengeluaran”, he said.

Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq’s other counsel, former solicitor general II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden argued that the abetment of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and misappropriation charges lacked ingredients of an actual offence.

“The funds were used for party purposes and not for his client’s individual benefit. The RM1 million in this case was withdrawn in March 2020 and used for preparations to face the COVID-19 outbreak and also for Ramadan and Hari Raya, which were around the corner. Not a single cent of the RM1 million went into (Syed Saddiq’s) account. The funds for the abovementioned purpose were also lawful,“ he said.

The proceedings will continue tomorrow before a three-member panel led by Court of Appeal judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, accompanied by Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.

Also present were Syed Saddiq’s parents, Shariffah Mahani Syed Abdul Aziz and Syed Abdul Rahman Abdullah Asagoff and actress Bella Astillah.

On Nov 9, 2023, Syed Saddiq was sentenced to seven years jail, two strokes of the cane and fined RM10 million by the High Court after being found guilty of four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of property and money laundering in connection to Armada funds.

Syed Saddiq, 32, was charged with abetting former Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with RM1 million of Armada’s funds, to commit a CBT by misappropriating the funds.

The offence was allegedly committed at CIMB Bank Bhd, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2 here on March 6, 2020, and the charge was framed under Section 406 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and liable to whipping and a fine, upon conviction.

On the second charge, the former Youth and Sports Minister is accused of misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s Maybank Islamic Bhd account by making Rafiq Hakim dispose of the money.

Syed Saddiq allegedly committed the offence at Malayan Banking Bhd, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya, here between April 8 and 21, 2018, and the charge was framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment and liable to whipping and a fine, upon conviction.

He is also facing two counts of money laundering, via transactions of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account in a bank at Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Baru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which is punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment and liable to a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the proceeds of an unlawful activity upon conviction.