[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR – The treasurer general of Umno, the largest party in Malaysia’s ruling Perikatan Nasional alliance, was sentenced to one year in jail after the Malaysian High Court found him guilty of corruption on Monday (December 21).
Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, 70, was found guilty under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes the use of public office to receive gratuity, for accepting RM2 million (S $ 660,000) from a local businessman in 2016, when the first was minister of federal territories. .
He was also fined 2 million ringgit for the crime. However, both the imprisonment and the fine were suspended pending an appeal by Tengku Adnan to higher courts.
Superior Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said Monday that the prosecution has proven his case “beyond a reasonable doubt”, while dismissing the charges of political persecution of Tengku Adnan in the case.
The decision is made just fifteen days after Tengku Adnan, who is a deputy from Putrajaya, was released from another corruption trial by the High Court on a separate charge involving the receipt of RM1 million from another businessman.
The High Court is currently briefly withdrawing as it prepares to hear a mitigation hearing, where Tengku Adnan’s sentence is expected to be delivered.
Tengku Adnan could face up to two years in prison under the charge.
The former cabinet minister is the second high-profile Umno leader to be convicted of corruption in recent months, following the conviction of former Prime Minister Najib Razak over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in July.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM 210 million, and is now free on bail pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Tengku Adnan’s conviction came a day after he organized a large wedding reception for his son, in front of the Federal Court building in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. The wedding reception coincided with Tengku Adnan’s 70th birthday.
The political veteran will now have to take his appeal to the higher courts of Putrajaya to overturn the conviction.
Tengku Adnan’s defense had claimed that the RM2 million was a political donation given to him as treasurer of Umno, to be used for the party’s election campaigns in Selangor and Perak in 2016.
However, Judge Mohamed Zaini said he was unable to accept the argument, especially after a defense-produced receipt for the donation was drawn up in 2018, despite the crime taking place in 2016.
In his testimonial statement, the former minister also described the sum, RM2 million, as “pocket money” for him. In the course of the trial, it was also revealed that Tengku Adnan’s assets amounted to RM 782.75 million in 2016.
[ad_2]
