High Court acquits Muhyiddin of bribery charges

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today acquitted and freed former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin of four charges of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM232.5 million.

Judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin ruled that the charges were vague, flawed and unfounded because they did not specify the details of the offences committed.

"Therefore, the court allows the applicant's application to strike out all four charges. With this, the applicant is acquitted and discharged," he said.

Jamil also said the court had the power to set aside or cancel the charges and suspend them permanently.

"The court found that Muhyiddin was accused of an offence that was not provided for under the law. The four charges were flawed because they did not disclose any offence under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Ant-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, which is an injustice.

"The four charges also did not contain the details of how the offences were committed, as provided for under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code," he said.

Speaking outside the court later, Muhyiddin said he had always believed that the charges against him were politically motivated. 

"I have not committed any wrongdoing, whether according to the laws of the MACC or any other," he said. 

"I am thankful and I can say that we will continue to explain to the people what was done by certain parties to persecute me, and today, it has been proven that these were false accusations."

Meanwhile, lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik hailed the decision as "fair and just".

"The charges preferred against Muhyiddin were bad in law, seriously defected and must not see the light of day," he said, describing them also as "an abuse of process". 

Another defence lawyer, K Kumaraendran, said Muhyiddin was clearly innocent from the beginning.

"His acquittal reinforces the presumption of innocence from the beginning," he said. 

He added that the prosecution should have considered the law before deciding to bring the charges in the first place.

"I don't know what agenda they had when they first charged him," he added.

Muhyiddin was charged with using his position as then prime minister and Bersatu president to obtain bribes for the party from three companies – Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd – as well as from one Azman Yusoff.

He was charged with committing the offences at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021.