KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — A former chief executive officer of Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FIC) was charged in the Sessions Court here today with two counts of deceiving the company’s board of directors over the commercial development of Felda land along Jalan Semarak in 2014.

Zaid Abdul Jalil, 56, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial to both charges after they were read out before Sessions Court Judge Rosli Ahmad, FMT reported.

On the first count, Zaid is accused of deceiving the FIC board into believing that Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd was qualified for appointment as the project’s master developer, despite knowing the company was only eligible to serve as its master planner.

By misleading the board, he allegedly induced them into approving Synergy Promenade's appointment as the project's master developer during a meeting at Menara Felda on Jan 16, 2014.

On the second count, Zaid is accused of deceiving the FIC board regarding the commercial valuation of 24 lots of Felda land by misrepresenting that a market assessment by Firdaus & Associates Property Professionals Sdn Bhd valued the development at RM330.96 million, when the valuer's actual reported assessment was RM691.7 million.

He is further alleged to have falsely informed the board that the 24 parcels had an indicative value of RM180 million from the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), when no such valuation had been provided.

Through these misrepresentations, Zaid allegedly induced the FIC board to accept an offer from Synergy Promenade featuring a proposed minimum guaranteed return of RM500 million or 10 per cent of the gross development value (GDV), whichever was higher.

The alleged offence was committed at Menara Felda on April 29, 2014.

Both charges were framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code for cheating, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Radzi Shah Razak proposed bail at RM50,000 for each charge, along with conditions requiring Zaid to surrender his passport and report monthly to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

In mitigation, defence counsel Shahrullah Khan appealed for a reduced bail of RM10,000 per charge, citing his client's financial constraints.

Shahrullah said that Zaid had cooperated fully with MACC throughout the investigation and had previously served as a prosecution witness in two major trials, including the graft case involving former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad.

Rosli granted bail at RM60,000 for both charges with one surety, ordered Zaid to surrender his passport to the court pending disposal of the case, and instructed him to report to the MACC office once a month.

The court fixed Oct 29 for case mention.