Federal Court defers Syed Saddiq decision to July 13

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has deferred its decision on the prosecution’s final appeal against the acquittal of Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to July 13.

A three-member panel was supposed to deliver its ruling today, but Court of Appeal president Abu Bakar Jais said Justice Ruzima Ghazali could not be present as he was on medical leave.

Sitting alone, Abu Bakar said it was therefore not appropriate to deliver the ruling today.

The other member of the panel was Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

In 2021, Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting then Bersatu Youth assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with RM1 million in Bersatu Youth’s funds, to commit criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the money.

He was also accused of misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s Maybank Islamic Bhd account by making Rafiq dispose of the money.

The 33‑year‑old was also charged with two counts of money laundering, involving RM50,000 each – believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities – transferred from his Maybank Islamic account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account at a bank in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

The High Court convicted Syed Saddiq of all charges, sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment, two strokes of the rotan, and a RM10 million fine. He subsequently stepped down as Muda president.

However, the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitted the founding Muda president in June last year, quashing his sentence.

The prosecution filed an appeal with the Federal Court in December, seeking to restore the conviction and sentence imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.