Kuala lumpur: The Sessions Court today granted a postponement to Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and his wife, Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad, in their RM2.8 million corruption trial, moving the hearing of their defense from November 27 and December 3 to January next year.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Judge Rosli Ahmad ruled in favor of the postponement after deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fadhly Mohd Zamry informed the court of a letter submitted on November 4. The letter cited the upcoming 17th Sabah state election, scheduled for November 29, as the reason for the requested delay.
Judge Rosli announced, "The court allows the hearings on November 27 and December 3 to be postponed, and the trial will resume from January 12 to 14, 2026." The case mention was attended by Bung Moktar's lawyer, Ridha Abdah Subri. The defense is expected to call Zizie Izette to testify in the forthcoming proceedings.
The Kinabatangan member of Parliament, Bung Moktar, was initially charged on May 3, 2019, with two counts of accepting bribes, totaling RM2.2 million and RM262,500. The bribes were allegedly accepted as inducements to approve a RM150 million investment by Felcra in Public Mutual unit trusts. The charges claim that the bribes were received from Public Mutual investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid via Zizie Izette at Public Bank Berhad, Taman Melawati, on June 12 and 19, 2015.
Additionally, Bung Moktar faces another charge of corruptly obtaining RM337,500 in cash from Public Mutual investment agent Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar. This transaction was allegedly conducted through the Public Ittikal Sequel Fund (PITSEQ) account registered under Zizie Izette's name, for the same purpose.
The charges are framed under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009, which stipulates a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of at least five times the bribe's value or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Zizie Izette is also charged with three counts of abetting her husband in these offenses. These charges, related to the same events, fall under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act 2009, carrying similar penalties upon conviction.