Syed Saddiq acquitted of all corruption charges
PUTRAJAYA: Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been acquitted of all corruption charges today.
A three-judge Court of Appeal panel led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim allowed the former youth and sports minister's appeal, setting aside his conviction, seven-year prison sentence, RM10 million fine, and two strokes of the rotan.
Other members of the bench were Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
On July 22, 2021, Syed Saddiq was charged, as the then Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Armada wing chief entrusted with control of Armada funds, with abetting Bersatu assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali in committing criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM1 million of the organisation's funds.
He was also charged with misusing property for personal gain, namely RM120,000 from a Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise, by causing Rafiq to dispose of the money.
Additionally, he faced two counts of money laundering involving two transactions of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities, transferred from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.
Noorin when reading the unanimous decision said the lower court was erred when it failed to properly evaluate the evidence and the legal elements required to prove the charges against Syed Saddiq.
"The act of telling, instructing, or ordering someone to withdraw money cannot be considered as disposal of the money.
The act of withdrawing the money itself does not satisfy the element of actus reus (the physical act of a crime)," she said.
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