Kota Kinabalu: A former Sabah Railway Department chief engineer and his two wives, who were acquitted of seven money laundering charges involving RM438,850, were on Wednesday ordered by the High Court here to enter their defence on all the charges.
Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid allowed the prosecution’s appeal against the Sessions Court’s decision to discharge and acquit the respondents — Ismail Ahmad, 65, now a pensioner, his first wife Muhilim @ Masniah Buaya @ Buayie, 65, and second wife Runtiah Rais, 50, without calling for their defence.
The charges comprise one joint charge involving Ismail and Muhilim, one joint charge involving Ismail and Runtiah, as well as five charges against Runtiah alone.
Celestina held that the Sessions Court judge had erred in law and in fact in discharging and acquitting all the accused.
The court ordered Ismail to enter his defence on the joint charge with Muhilim and the joint charge with Runtiah, while Runtiah was ordered to enter her defence on the five charges against her.
The court further ordered that the cases be remitted to the Sessions Court for the defence stage.
The prosecution had appealed against the decision of Sessions Court Judge Abu Bakar Manat, who had discharged and acquitted Ismail at the end of the defence case on five charges against him alone on Dec 16, 2022 and had also discharged and acquitted Muhilim and Runtiah at the end of the prosecution’s case on June 10, 2021.
The prosecution submitted that the Sessions Court Judge erred in law and in fact in deciding to acquit and discharge Ismail, Muhilim and Runtiah and that the High Court should intervene as the decision was plainly wrong.
However, Celestina deferred her decision on the prosecution’s appeal involving the five charges against Ismail alone pending the defence stage in respect of the other charges before the Sessions Court.
She fixed July 23 for e-review to be updated on the status of the proceedings before the Sessions Court.
Meanwhile, at the Sessions Court, Judge Elsie Primus fixed July 13 - 17 for defence hearing.
Elsie allowed Ismail bail of RM100,000, while Muhilim and Runtiah were each granted RM50,000 bail with one surety each.
She also imposed additional conditions requested by the prosecution, ordering them to surrender their passports to the court and report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office at least once a month until the case is disposed of.
Ismail and Muhilim, a former government servant, were jointly charged with possessing RM275,550 in a bank account, allegedly proceeds from unlawful activities, between March and September 2016 at the HSBC branch in Kota Kinabalu.
Ismail and Runtiah, a clerk of a government department, were jointly accused of having RM133,300 in a bank account allegedly derived from unlawful activities from Feb to Sept 2016 at the OCBC Bank, Kota Kinabalu branch.
Runtiah alone faces five counts of allegedly having monies derived from unlawful activities, namely RM10,000, RM5,000, RM5,000, RM5,000 and RM5,000, at Maybank branches in Karamunsing, Putatan and Kg Air here, and at Pos Malaysia Putatan on July 1, 2016.
The Sessions Court on June 10, 2021 discharged and acquitted them of the charges at the end of the prosecution’s case.
Ismail was also previously charged with five counts of money laundering involving RM195,000 allegedly derived from unlawful activities between January and July 14, 2016, at Maybank branches in Kg Air, Kota Kinabalu, and Putatan. He was subsequently discharged and acquitted on Dec 16, 2022, at the close of his defence.
Each charge was framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which provides for a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the proceeds of the unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher, on conviction.
MACC Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry and Nurul Izzati Sapifee appeared for the appellant at the High Court and for the prosecution at the Sessions Court.
The trio was represented by counsel Datuk Rizwandean M. Borhan and Elhanan James.
