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Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ex-Sabah minister fails to secure retrial of forgery case
Former Sabah minister Peter Anthony is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for forgery. (Bernama pic) PUTRAJAYA : Convicted former Sabah minister Peter Anthony today failed in his bid to secure a retrial of his forgery charge after the Court of Appeal dismissed his application for a review, filed on March 14. Justice Azman Abdullah, chairing a three-judge panel, said there was no failure of justice regarding a police report lodged by prosecution witness Shukur Din, which was argued extensively in the final appeal last year. '(Peter) was given the right to be heard. The application for review is rejected. 'The previous appeal bench's failure to include (Shukur's police report as fresh evidence) in its broad grounds does not amount to a failure of justice,' he said. Also on the panel hearing the review application were Justices Noorin Badarudin and Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz. On March 4, a Court of Appeal panel comprising Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Zaini Mazlan and Azmi Ariffin delivered its broad oral grounds of judgment on Peter's appeal. The full judgment, written by Zaini and made available to parties early this week, explained why the fresh evidence did not help to exonerate Peter. Shukur had alleged that a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer concocted the last paragraph of his police report to implicate Peter in using Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to mislead then prime minister Najib Razak into securing a contract. Peter contended that Shukur's police report on Aug 9, 2018 exonerated him. He said the non-disclosure of the evidence at trial had prejudiced him. The former state minister in the Warisan-led Sabah government between 2018 and 2020 contended that he was deprived of the right to a fair trial by not being able to cross-examine Shukur on the report. The Court of Appeal last year granted Peter's application to admit Shukur's police report as additional evidence, noting that he had only come across it through a friend. The former Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat president's review application had sought to set aside the Court of Appeal's final ruling convicting him of the offence, and for the ordering of a retrial. Earlier today, lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla, appearing for Peter, told the court that the 16-page broad grounds made no reference to the fresh evidence admitted. 'It was only stated in the 24-page judgment, which amounts to an afterthought,' said Haniff, who was assisted by lawyer Rosal Azimin Ahmad. Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin responded that Peter had failed to meet the legal threshold for a review, adding that the fresh evidence was already thoroughly examined during the appeal. 'There is no breach or miscarriage of justice to allow the application,' said Wan Shaharuddin, who was assisted by deputy public prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah. Peter was sentenced to three years' jail and fined RM50,000 by the sessions court in Kuala Lumpur in 2022. He has paid the fine and is currently serving his sentence. The former Melalap assemblyman was convicted of falsifying documents related to a maintenance and service contract at UMS 11 years ago. He was charged in his capacity as managing director of Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd with forging a letter from the office of the UMS deputy vice-chancellor, dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement to use it for fraudulent purposes.
Free Malaysia Today
17-07-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Appeals court upholds 10-year sentence on ex-tahfiz teacher for sexual harassment
The Court of Appeal said the sentence should serve as a deterrent to the public. PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal today upheld the 10-year prison sentence and two strokes of the rotan imposed on a former tahfiz school teacher for sexually harassing an 11-year-old student in a warden's room five years ago. A three-judge panel led by Justice Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Tengku Mohammad Khaireel Tengku Wahab. The 32-year-old had sought to overturn the conviction and sentence handed down by the sessions court which was later affirmed by the High Court. Azman said the case not only tainted the appellant's reputation as an ustaz but had left a lasting impact on the victim. 'The appellant should have been the one to prevent such incidents from happening. We find the 10-year sentence and two strokes of the rotan appropriate and not excessive. 'This sentence should serve as a deterrent to the public not to commit such offences. The appeal is therefore dismissed,' he said. The others on the bench were Justices Noorin Badaruddin and Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz. Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad urged the court to uphold the sentence, describing the case as a serious breach of trust. 'The appellant abused his position as a warden and religious teacher to commit the offence in a room meant to be a safe space for students. 'Parents send their children to tahfiz centres to learn religion, not to be harmed,' she said. Aznee added that the victim had shown courage by providing a consistent and detailed account to the authorities and during court proceedings against the accused, a person well-regarded within the school community. She also submitted that the offence was not an isolated incident, but had allegedly occurred repeatedly against the victim over the course of the year. The defence argued that the prosecution had failed to call a material witness – another student who was present in the room at the time of the incident. However, the prosecution maintained that the testimony of its witnesses was sufficient to prove the elements of the offence. The appellant was represented by Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi and Rahiza Zulkifli. On Dec 23, 2020, Tengku Khaireel was charged with two counts of physical sexual harassment. The offences were alleged to have taken place on Dec 1, 2020, at a tahfiz centre in Kuantan.
New Straits Times
17-07-2025
- New Straits Times
Court upholds 10-year sentence, whipping for tahfiz warden's sexual assault on student
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today upheld a 10-year jail sentence and two strokes of the cane imposed on a warden of a tahfiz education centre who was convicted of two counts of physical sexual assault on a male student, five years ago. A three-judge panel led by Datuk Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Tengku Mohammad Khaireel Tengku Wahab, 32, against the conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuantan High Court on Oct 17, 2023. In the judgment, he said, the court found that the testimony by the victim, who was then 11 years and six months old, was not a fabricated story, and this was supported by his complaint to a doctor at a health clinic who treated him. "The victim cried when testifying at the Sessions Court. The accusation or complaint by the victim was against an ustaz (religious teacher) who taught him. It not only tarnished the name of the ustaz, but also had a personal impact on the victim," he said. Azman, sitting with Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, said the court found the conviction handed down against Tengku Mohammad Khaireel to be correct and appropriate for both charges. Regarding the sentence, he said that as the appellant should be the individual responsible for preventing such an incident, a sentence of 10 years in prison and one stroke of the cane for each charge was not excessive. "This sentence should not only give fear to the appellant but also to the general public so that they do not repeat the same offence. With this, we unanimously dismiss the appeal by the appellant and the High Court's decision is upheld," he said. On Dec 23, 2020, Tengku Mohammad Khaireel was charged with two counts of committing physical sexual assault on the boy in the warden's room of the school's dormitory. He was charged under Section 14(a) and Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 with committing the offence at 11.30 pm on Dec 1, 2020. On Dec 20, 2022, the Kuantan Sessions Court sentenced him to eight years in prison and two strokes of the cane for each charge and ordered the prison sentences to be served concurrently. Following a cross-appeal by the prosecution, the Kuantan High Court, on Dec 20, 2022, increased the prison sentence to 10 years on each count, to be served concurrently, and reduced the number of whippings to one stroke for each charge. Earlier, Mohd Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi, who represented Tengku Mohammad Khaireel, submitted that the High Court had erred in ruling the victim as a credible witness because the boy had given three different versions of the incident. "The High Court erred in stating that the child's testimony was judiciously convincing and that the testimony should be scrutinised by the appeal panel carefully. "The victim's testimony cannot be said to have reached the level of judiciously convincing because the prosecution did not call two other child witnesses who were sleeping on the top bunk of a double-decker bed in the same room," he said. Deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad, who appeared for the prosecution, said there was no basis to question the victim's credibility because the testimony given was consistent and was supported by the testimony of the doctor at the health clinic, the accompanying teacher and the recording officer in the case. "The victim was also emotional and cried while giving evidence in court about an ustaz who was respected in the school community. It was not fabricated but stemmed from trauma.
Sinar Daily
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sinar Daily
Syed Saddiq walks free after winning appeal against graft conviction
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel, comprising Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin allowed the former youth and sports minister's appeal and overturned his conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Nov 9, 2023. 25 Jun 2025 10:31am The High Court had sentenced Syed Saddiq, 32, to seven years imprisonment, two strokes of the cane and a RM10 million in 2023 fine after finding him guilty on all four abetment charges involving Armada funds. - Bernama file photo PUTRAJAYA - Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman walks out of court a free man today after the Court of Appeal acquitted him of all four charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of property and money laundering involving party funds linked to Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada). In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel, comprising Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin allowed the former youth and sports minister's appeal and overturned his conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Nov 9, 2023. The High Court had sentenced Syed Saddiq, 32, to seven years imprisonment, two strokes of the cane and a RM10 million fine after finding him guilty on all four abetment charges involving Armada funds. MORE TO COME...
Borneo Post
19-06-2025
- Borneo Post
Man escapes gallows for teen's murder in Semporna
The Kota Kinabalu Court Complex. KOTA KINABALU (June 19): A 36-year-old man escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal here on Thursday substituted his death sentence with 35 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for the murder of a teenage girl in Semporna seven years ago. A panel of three judges — Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin — unanimously dismissed Alkadzman Maksidi's appeal against the Tawau High Court's decision. Alkadzman was ordered to serve the jail term from the date of his arrest on November 29, 2018. On November 23, 2022, he was sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court after being found guilty of murdering a14-year-old girl in an orchard in Semporna on November 29, 2018. He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code. Following amendments to the section, courts may impose a prison term of not less than 30 years and not exceeding 40 years, along with a mandatory minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, if the death sentence is not applied. Alkadzman was represented by counsel Mervyn @ Hasan Sainy.
