KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution is expected to amend the corruption charges against former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.
This was revealed by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Umar Saifuddin Jaafar during the hearing of the case before High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
However, he did not explain the reasons for the amendment during the proceeding.
“We are now in the midst of finalising the documents.
“There will be new exhibits coming from overseas because the incident happened in Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said.
Musa’s counsel Francis Ng Aik Guan told the court that his client would be heading to London for medical treatment from Aug 7 to Sept 5.
The court then fixed Sept 25 for case management.
On July 23, the Court of Appeal had allowed the Sungai Sibuga assemblyman to retrieve his passport to resume medical treatment overseas.
Musa, 68, was slapped with 51 charges for receiving bribes and money laundering.
On Nov 5, Musa was charged with 35 corruption charges involving RM263 million in connection with timber concession contracts in Sabah.
Musa allegedly committed the offences in Singapore and Hong Kong between Dec 2004 and Nov 2008.
According to the charge sheets, Musa allegedly accepted the money as inducements to give timber concession contracts to 16 companies.
The companies are Bountiful Returns Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Segar Tepat Sdn Bhd, JV Lestari Sdn Bhd, Tamabina Sdn Bhd, Sabapioneer Sdn Bhd, Danagaya Sdn Bhd, LR Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Lembah Mayang Sdn Bhd, Fast Progress Sdn Bhd, Maju Sinar Network Sdn Bhd, Eden Region Sdn Bhd, Gasing Selatan Sdn Bhd, Innokita Sdn Bhd, Tetap Simfoni Sdn Bhd, Asiatic Lumber Industries Sdn Bhd and Eramewa Sdn Bhd.
The charges were framed under Section 11 (a) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if convicted.
He was also charged with 16 money laundering charges involving more than than US$37.8 million (RM154 million) and S$2.5 million (RM7.5 million).
According to the first charge, he allegedly instructed Richard Christopher Barnes, 67, to open an UBS AG Singapore bank account under the name of Richard Christopher Barnes to receive proceeds from illicit activities.
He also faced an alternative count to the first charge of allegedly ordering Barnes to open the account to purportedly hide proceeds from illicit activities.
The offences were allegedly committed at UBS AG Singapore Bank on June 21, 2006.
According to the second to 15th counts, Musa was accused of receiving US$16,148,547 and US$1,047,153 from Chia Tien Foh, US$2,702,702 and US$2,180,673 from Young Generation Corp, US$4,044,956.82 from Lo Man Heng, US$518, 681.74 and US$ 895,000 from Mazlan Zakaria, US$7,300,000 and S$2,500,000 from Axon Group Ltd, US$862,000, US$778, 443 and US$311,332.50 from Well Capital Finance Ltd, US$650,000 from Innovative Information Ltd, and US$406,003.29 from Portland Trading Pte Ltd through Barnes’ bank account.
Meanwhile on the 16th count, he was alleged to have instructed Barnes to transfer all assets and future inflows, which were proceeds from illicit activities from Barnes’ bank account to his personal account at UBS AG Bank in Zurich, Switzerland.
The offences were all allegedly committed at UBS AG Bank in Hong Kong, China, between June 21, 2006, and May 14, 2008.
All the charges will be jointly brought to trial before the same High Court and is expected to commence on June 8, 2020.