Menara KL bribery case moved to High Court

KUALA LUMPUR: The corruption case involving Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd and its director over an alleged bribery offer to Tan Sri Annuar Musa, linked to the takeover of the Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd concession, will now be heard at the High Court.

The decision followed a ruling by High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin, who allowed applications by Hydroshoppe and its director, Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh, to transfer the case from the Sessions Court.

In her broad grounds, Ruwena said that after reviewing the submissions and affidavits filed, it was premature to conclude that the case involved double jeopardy, as the accused and the company were charged under two distinct legal provisions despite arising from the same set of facts.

“However, the court found merit in the issue of unusual difficulty raised by the applicant. It is only on these grounds that the application is allowed.

“The difficulty envisaged by the applicant in building his defence warrants the case being transferred to and heard by the High Court,” she said.

The judge said that since the facts of the case and the prosecution witnesses were likely to be the same, it would be inexpedient for the trials to proceed one after another.

She said the court was therefore exercising its jurisdiction under the Criminal Procedure Code, in the interest of justice, for both cases to be heard together.

Hamid was represented by lawyers Joshua Tay and Tang Jia Yearn, while the prosecution was led by Dr Iffa Sirrhu Samsudin.

The High Court will fix a date for case management at a later stage.

The case was later mentioned before Sessions Court judge Suzana Hussin, before whom Hamid had originally been charged.

Suzana was informed of the High Court’s decision and vacated all previously scheduled trial dates.

In 2023, Hamid claimed trial to offering RM500,000 annually for 15 years to Datuk Tan Ser Lay, 60, for the benefit of Annuar, who was then communications and multimedia minister, at the ministry’s headquarters between July and August 2022.

The money was allegedly offered as an inducement to approve the acquisition of Menara KL by Hamid’s company.

On the same day, Hydroshoppe was charged with the same offence involving the same individuals.

Hamid, who appeared on behalf of the company, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

In 2024, the Sessions Court dismissed Hydroshoppe’s application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, or for a temporary suspension of the trial pending the disposal of the similar corruption charge faced by Hamid.

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المصدر: New Straits Times