Kuala lumpur: The prosecution's appeal hearing against the acquittal of former FELDA chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad on nine corruption charges has been rescheduled to December 4 at the Federal Court. Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz revealed that the new hearing date was determined during a case management session conducted via Zoom before deputy registrar Mahyun Yusof.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the appeal hearing was initially set for October 29 but was postponed as Mohd Isa appointed new legal counsel. He has now engaged the legal firm of Hafarizam Wan and Aisha Mubarak to represent him, replacing his previous solicitors, Salehuddin Saidin and Associates. Previously, lawyer Datuk Salehuddin Saidin had represented Mohd Isa in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal before his appointment as a Dewan Negara Senator.
The prosecution filed a notice of appeal on March 7, followed by a petition for appeal on June 26, advancing 24 grounds of appeal. They contended that the Court of Appeal erred in both law and fact when it acquitted and discharged Mohd Isa. On March 6, 2024, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously set aside the conviction, six years imprisonment, and RM15.45 million fine imposed upon him. The panel, chaired by Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, now a Federal Court Judge, included Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S M Komathy Suppiah.
This decision followed their granting of the appeal lodged by the former Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar, overturning the High Court ruling and sentence on February 3, 2021. In 2018, Mohd Isa, 75, was accused of nine counts of receiving RM3.09 million in bribes from Ikhwan Zaidel, then a director of Gegasan Abadi Properties Sdn Bhd, through his former special officer, Muhammad Zahid Md Arip. The payment was allegedly made to induce the approval of the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites in Kuching by FELDA Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd for RM160 million.
The offences were alleged to have occurred at Level 49, Menara FELDA, Persiaran KLCC, between July 21, 2014, and December 11, 2015. He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.