Federal Court to rule Feb 10 on prosecution appeal in Isa Samad case

PUTRAJAYA - The Federal Court has set Feb 10 to deliver its verdict on the prosecution's appeal against the acquittal of former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad on nine corruption charges involving RM3.09 million.

A three-member panel, led by Federal Court Judge Datuk Nordin Hassan, said the court required time to consider the submissions from both parties, as well as to review the earlier Court of Appeal judgment. "The decision is fixed for Feb 10 at 9.00 am,” he announced.

The bench, which also included Justices Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, had heard oral arguments from both the prosecution and defence earlier in the proceedings.

The appeal stems from the Court of Appeal's ruling on March 6, 2024, which overturned the High Court's conviction of Mohd Isa and the subsequent sentence of six years' imprisonment and an RM15.45 million fine.

On Feb 3, 2021, the High Court convicted Mohd Isa, 77, on nine counts of corruption. The offences were alleged to have taken place on the 49th floor of Menara Felda, Platinum Park, Persiaran KLCC in Kuala Lumpur between July 15, 2014, and Dec 15, 2015.

The former Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar was accused of accepting RM3.09 million in gratification from Ikhwan Zaidel, then a director of Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd, through his former special officer, Muhammad Zahid Md Arip.

The payment was allegedly an inducement for approving the Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd’s (FICSB) purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites in Kuching, Sarawak, for RM160 million.

During today’s appeal hearing, submissions from both parties lasted approximately 43 minutes.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz characterised the case as one of being "innocently asked for, but corruptly received”.

He contended that the prosecution had established that Mohd Isa accepted gratification on nine separate occasions from Ikhwan via his former special officer between July 2014 and December 2015.

The prosecutor further submitted that evidence was adduced showing that, following a meeting with Ikhwan, Mohd Isa had indirectly instructed Muhammad Zahid to solicit a bribe from him, an instruction which Muhammad Zahid subsequently carried out.

Afzanizam argued that the bribes were delivered by Ikhwan to Muhammad Zahid, who then passed them on to Mohd Isa in stages at his office in Felda.

He submitted that the Court of Appeal had erred in overturning the High Court's judgment and urged the Federal Court to reinstate Mohd Isa's conviction on all corruption charges.

He further contended that, while the investigation had not located the bribe money in Mohd Isa's possession, such physical discovery was not a requisite element for proving a charge of receiving gratification under established legal principles.

In response, Mohd Isa's counsel, M M Athimulan, submitted that the Court of Appeal had committed no error of law in reversing the High Court's finding of guilt against his client.

"The Court of Appeal’s finding that there was no credible evidence Mohd Isa had approved, directed or influenced the FICSB Board’s decision demolishes the prosecution’s case altogether.

"This is a finding of fact that the prosecution failed to prove the respondent (Mohd Isa) committed the alleged act for which the gratification was purportedly received,” he said.

Athimulan countered that the Court of Appeal was correct in finding the trial judge's conclusion that Mohd Isa's request to convey his "salam" was a coded demand for gratification to be speculative and lacking direct evidentiary support. - BERNAMA