KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman will go on trial beginning June next year for 35 counts of bribery and 16 counts of money laundering.
The Star Online reported that the dates for the trial were fixed today by High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah to start from June 8, 2020.
During the case mention today, public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran said the prosecution would call about 30 witnesses to testify.
“We also requested both cases (money laundering and corruption) be jointly tried as it involved same transactions,” she was quoted saying by The Star Online.
Musa’s counsel Francis Ng reportedly did not object and the joint trial application was allowed.
Musa, 68, reportedly pleaded not guilty when the charges were re-read to him during the proceedings.
When contacted by Malay Mail, Musa’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said his client had sought for earlier trial dates, but the court’s calendar was already full.
He confirmed the trial dates fixed today to be June 8 to June 11, June 15 to June 18, June 22 to June 25, July 6 to July 9, July 13 to July 16, July 20 to July 23, all in 2020.
He said Musa’s legal team had also requested for the list of prosecution witnesses to be provided.
Amer Hamzah told Malay Mail that his client will file a fresh application to refer constitutional questions to the Federal Court in relation to the money-laundering charges against him, confirming that the money-laundering charges will become void if the constitutional challenge is successful.
Previously, Musa’s lawyers had filed an application to refer legal questions involving constitutional law to the Federal Court for the apex to decide.
“We did file an application to refer some questions to the Federal Court previously when the matter was at the Sessions Court.
“But since the matter was transferred to the High Court, we had to withdraw the application and will have to re-file it at the High Court,” Amer Hamzah told Malay Mail.
The case is fixed for another mention on July 24 this year.
Musa had in November last year pleaded not guilty to 35 counts of corruption involving US$63 million (around RM243 million) in Hong Kong and Singapore as an inducement for offering timber concessions in Sabah between Dec 20, 2004 and Nov 6, 2008.
The bribes were allegedly an inducement to give timber concessions contracts to 16 companies — Bountiful Returns Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Segar Tepat Sdn Bhd, JV Lestari Sdn Bhd, Tamabina Sdn Bhd, Sabapioneer Sdn Bhd, Danagaya Sdn Bhd, LR Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Lembah Mayang Sdn Bhd, Fast Progress Sdn Bhd, Maju Sinar Network Sdn Bhd, Eden Region Sdn Bhd, Gasing Selatan Sdn Bhd, Innokita Sdn Bhd, Tetap Simfoni Sdn Bhd, Asiatic Lumber Industries Sdn Bhd, and Eramewa Sdn Bhd.
The charges were framed under Section 11(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 that carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine not less than five times the amount of bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
In March, Musa was slapped with 16 additional charges of money laundering involving US$37.8 million (RM158.6 million) and US$ 2.5 million allegedly committed more than 10 years ago.
Musa also faces an alternative charge to the first charge, where he is said to have hidden his belongings which were proceeds from illegal activities at the same place and time.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison as well as a fine of no less than five times the amount of illegal proceeds or RM5 million — whichever is higher — upon conviction.
