Muar MP Syed Saddiq has submitted 18 grounds of appeal, requesting the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court's conviction on four charges of breach of trust, misappropriation of funds, and money laundering, and the sentence of 7 years in prison, two strokes of caning, and a fine of RM10 million.
In an appeal filed yesterday, Syed Saddiq pointed out that for the first charge of criminal conspiracy to commit breach of trust, the High Court Judge Datuk Azhar made an error by equating withdrawal to expenditure.
He said the decision on the second charge of misappropriation of funds contradicts the conclusion that RM120,000 was indeed his own money or for his own use.
“Therefore, the judge erroneously found prima facie for the second charge by considering irrelevant facts and relying on hearsay.”
The former ARMADA Youth Chief said that due to the erroneous judgment on the second charge, the judge also wrongly found prima facie for the third and fourth charges, as these two charges are based on the second charge.
Syed Saddiq alleged that the reasoning in the judgment delivered approximately 13 months after the November 9, 2023 ruling, caused him prejudice.
“The judge violated Section 182A of the Criminal Procedure Code by not considering all the evidence required by law, and failed to conduct a fair and just trial for all four charges against the defense.
“Had the judge considered all the evidence, the judge would have found that I raised reasonable doubt on all four charges.”
The former Youth and Sports Minister claimed that many appealable errors made by the judge deprived him of a fair trial opportunity.
“Therefore, I urge the court to overturn the judgment and declare me not guilty. The sentences imposed are excessively severe and do not align with acceptable sentencing principles.”
The Court of Appeal has scheduled to hear Syed Saddiq's appeal filed on November 9, 2023, on March 19-20 next year.
According to the first charge, Syed Saddiq, who was entrusted with RM1 million in his capacity as the then ARMADA Youth Chief, conspired with Deputy Treasurer Rafiq to commit breach of trust, thereby violating Section 406 of the Penal Code, which upon conviction, carries a maximum imprisonment of 10 years, caning, and a fine.
For the second charge, Syed Saddiq was accused of misappropriating RM120,000 from the Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise's Maybank Islamic account for personal use between April 8-21, 2018, leading Rafiq to cancel the account; He thus violated Section 406 of the Penal Code, which upon conviction, carries a minimum imprisonment of 6 months or up to 5 years, caning, and a fine.
Syed Saddiq also faces two charges of money laundering, on June 16 and 19 in a bank in Johor Bahru, where he transferred two sums of RM50,000 each, derived from illegal activities, from a Maybank Islamic account he held to his Bumiputera Trust Fund account.
He thereby violated Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001; upon conviction, he may be penalized under the same Act's Section 4(1) with a maximum imprisonment of 15 years, and a fine five times the proceeds of the illegal activity.