Ex-CID chief freed over failure to declare earnings

(FMT) – The Court of Appeal today affirmed the acquittal of former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Ku Chin Wah of a charge of failing to declare his source of income four years ago.

This followed the prosecution’s move to withdraw its appeal against the High Court ruling last November.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Fedder told a three-member bench chaired by Mohtarudin Baki that the prosecution was abandoning its appeal.

He said Ku had sent a representation letter in July for the prosecution to consider the matter, and that the prosecution filed a notice of discontinuance last month after considering the representation.

Mohtarudin Baki, who sat with Ahmadi Asnawi and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, then struck out the appeal and affirmed the High Court ruling.

Neither Ku nor his counsel were present in court.

On Nov 22, High Court judge Azman Abdullah also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against the Sessions Court’s decision on Ku on May 26 last year.

In that ruling, judge Sohaini Alias had acquitted and discharged Ku following the prosecution’s failure to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt at the end of the defence.

Ku was charged with deliberately failing to comply with the public prosecutor’s notice under Section 49 (1) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, dated Dec 23, 2013, by failing to declare his source of earnings in a sworn statement dated Jan 8, 2014.

He was charged with committing the offence at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya, between Dec 23, 2013 and Jan 21, 2014.

The charge, under Section 49 (3) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, carried a fine of up to RM1 million, imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, upon conviction.