This is because he lost in his appeal today at the Court of Appeal here to strike out two principal charges of CBT and two alternative charges of cheating.
A three-member Court of Appeal panel chaired by Justice Datuk Azahar Mohamed unanimously dismissed Ahmad Zubair’s appeal and upheld the decision of a high court which had rejected his application to strike out the charges.
Azahar said the charges preferred on Ahmad Zubair were valid.
The panel, also comprising justices Datuk Rohana Yusuf and Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, did not accept the arguments forwarded by counsel Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden that the charges against his client (Ahmad Zubair) were flawed and defective.
Azahar said the prosecution was entitled to lead evidence during the trial and produce its witnesses to explain on documents that were in dispute.
“We are of the view that this is not a fit and proper, and exceptional case for us to exercise our discretion to set aside and quash the charges,” he said.
Ahmad Zubair, 56, claimed trial at a Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur on amended principal charges of criminal breach of trust involving more than RM100 million, and two alternative charges of cheating.
The charges were in connection with the acquisition of native customary rights (NCR) land in Sarikei under the Sarawak Upstream Expansion Plan.
In the first charge, he was accused of failing to take or instruct legal action between Nov 17 and 28, 2008, to rectify the award of the NCR lands in KJD/Lower Julau, Sg Julau/Sg Pitoh/Sg Jiet and part of Merurun/Meluan/Entabai in Sarikei to Vertical Drive Sdn Bhd, and thereby causing Sime Darby to incur losses amounting to RM85,023,047.20 for having to acquire Vertical Drive.
In the second charge, he was accused of failing to take or instruct legal action between Nov 17, 2008 and Dec 4, 2009 to rectify the award of the NCR lands in the confluence of Btg Rejang/Btg Baleh, Kapit and the remaining eastern half of the Merurun/Meluan/Entabai and Julau to Nature Ambience Sdn Bhd and thus, causing Sime Darby to incur losses amounting to RM16,816,217 in having to acquire Nature Ambience.
For the cheating charges, he was accused of failing to inform Sime Darby’s board of directors on Nov 28, 2008 and Dec 4, 2009, respectively, that the NCR lands in Sarikei had instead, been awarded to Vertical Drive and Nature Ambience.
On March 15, this year, the High Court dismissed Ahmad Zubair’s application for his charges to be struck out.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais and Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi appeared for the prosecution.
This morning, the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Ahmad Zubair’s application to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal, over his criminal breach of trust charges.
– BERNAMA
