SHAH ALAM, Sept 3 — The reading of corruption charges against former Lembaga Tabung Haji chief operating officer Datuk Adi Azuan Abdul Ghani, who was scheduled to be charged today, was postponed after he was hospitalised for a heart problem.
Adi Azuan, 56, was initially scheduled to appear before the Sessions Court here to face several charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code.
Section 165 covers the offence of a public servant obtaining a valuable item without consideration.
When the case was called this morning, his lawyer Wan Azman Aiman Wan Fakhruddin informed Sessions Court judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud that his client had been hospitalised since Aug 31.
The lawyer said Adi Azuan was currently admitted to Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, where he had been undergoing a series of electrocardiogram tests.
Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin appeared for the prosecution.
Adi Azuan’s wife, who was present in court, was later asked to explain her husband’s current condition but said she could not determine how long he would remain hospitalised.
She added that he was expected to undergo an angiogram as soon as possible, according to a doctor’s note submitted to the court by counsel earlier.
Awang Kerisnada later said the court accepted the accused’s wife’s explanation and agreed to postpone today’s hearing to a later date.
“At the moment it is not feasible to read the charge even at the hospital and we should let the accused person rest,” he said.
The case has been fixed for mention on Sept 24.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry report on Tabung Haji previously identified Adi Azuan among five senior officers subjected to disciplinary proceedings, noting that an initial proposal to dismiss four of them was later revised to demotions.
