Ex-spy chief freed of RM50mil CBT charge

KUALA LUMPUR: Former spy chief Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid has been granted an acquittal by the High Court from a criminal breach of trust charge involving US$12.1mil (RM50.4mil).

Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain, in her decision here on Tuesday (Aug 9), said it was unfair to leave the charge hanging over Hasanah’s head.

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Hasanah was previously granted discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), whereby there was a possibility for her to be charged again.

JC Roz Mawar said the previous judge Justice Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh had rightfully granted the DNAA at that time in accordance to the law, as there was high probability for Hasanah to be re-charged.

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“(However) based on the facts that the prosecution is no longer proceeding with the case, this court then granted a discharge and acquittal.

“It is unfair for her (Hasanah) that the charge is still hanging over her head for more than a year,” she said, adding that justice was not carried out that way.

Hasanah, the former director-general of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO), pleaded not guilty to CBT involving US$12.1mil belonging to the Malaysian government at the Sessions Court on Oct 25,2018.

Hasanah, in her capacity as a civil servant, allegedly committed the offence at the office of the director-general of the Research Division of the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya between April 30 and May 9,2018.

The charge under Section 409 of the Penal Code provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years, whipping and a fine, on conviction.

More to come