KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has filed an appeal at Federal Court after the Court of Appeal permitted the prosecution to challenge his acquittal on four abuse of power charges.
A notice of appeal was filed at the Federal Court yesterday through law firm Chetan Jethwani and Company naming the prosecution as respondent.
The notice read that the 76-year-old Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president was appealing the entire decision made by CoA's Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk S.M Komathy Suppiah.
The judges,had on Wednesday, allowed the prosecution to reinstate four power abuse charges and ordered the case to be remitted to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.
The charges against Muhyiddin was linked to the Jana Wibawa programme during his tenure.
The appeal challenges the unanimous decision of the judges which are Bersatu is a political society that comes within the definition of associate as defined under Section 3 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and that the High Court judge had erred in deciding that the four charges did not disclose any offence known to law.
It includes the decision that the four charges are clear and unambigious and that there was no necessity on the prosecution to set out the manner or give further particular as to how the offence was committed.
The prosecution's appeal came after a High Court judge on Aug 15 last year acquitted and released Muhyiddin of the charges, ruling that it were all defective and in bad faith.
The judgment was made on two grounds - lack of details in the charges and the accused was charged on offences unknown to law.
Following the CoA's decision, Muhyiddin's counsel Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik said they would consider filing an appeal at the Federal Court.
On March 10 last year, Muhyiddin was charged with four counts of using his then prime minister and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president positions to obtain bribes amounting to RM232.5 million from three companies namely Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, Nepturis Sdn Bhd and Mamfor Sdn Bhd as well as Datuk Azman Yusoff for the party.
He had committed the offences at the prime minister's office, Bangunan Perdana Putra, Federal Government Administration Centre in Putrajaya between March 1, 2020 and Aug 20, 2021.
On April 18, Muhyiddin,who is also Perikatan Nasional chairman, filed an application to quash the four charges under Section 23 (1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.