Court discharges Ku Nan over RM1 million corruption case
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali granted the order today when the prosecution told the court that they do not wish to proceed with their case against Tengku Adnan due to some “new developments”.
(FMT) – The High Court here today granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal to former Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan Mansor on his RM1 million corruption case.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali granted the order today when the prosecution told the court that they do not wish to proceed with their case against Tengku Adnan due to some “new developments”.
His trial was scheduled to resume today.
The charge against Tengku Adnan, popularly known as Ku Nan, was for allegedly receiving RM1 million from businessman Tan Eng Boon to approve an application by Nucleus Properties Sdn Bhd (now known as Paragon City Development Sdn Bhd) to increase the industrial plot ratio of a piece of land on Jalan Semarak.
The offence was said to have taken place at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) CIMB branch on Dec 27, 2013.
The charge against Tengku Adnan was under Section 24(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act. If convicted, he could have been jailed up to 20 years and fined five times the gratification amount received.
Previously, the court fined Tan RM1.5 million for bribing Tengku Adnan over an alternative charge for allegedly abetting Tengku Adnan under Section 165 of the Penal Code which carries a two-year jail term, a fine or both upon conviction.
Earlier today, deputy public prosecutor Julia Ibrahim urged the court to issue a “discharge not amounting to acquittal” order against Tengku Adnan as the MACC needed to conduct further investigations into the case.
“We are not sure how long MACC needs to investigate this ‘new development’.
“The prosecution will decide whether to proceed on the charge after the new issue is resolved,” she said.
Defence lawyer Tan Hock Chuan said that Tengku Adnan should be granted a full acquittal.
“He was first charged in the Sessions Court on Nov 15, 2018 and the charge has been hanging on his head for more than two years.
“The prosecution did not indicate the time frame on how long they need to investigate this ‘new development’,” he added.
Tan also said MACC should have investigated Tengku Adnan’s case before he was charged in court.
Meanwhile, another High Court fixed Dec 21 to deliver its decision on another corruption case involving Tengku Adnan. The Putrajaya MP was accused of allegedly receiving RM2 million from a businessman, Chai Kin Kong, in 2016.
