Former Spy Chief Gets Full Acquittal In RM50 Million CBT Charge
Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid, one of the key officials during Najib's administration, is now a free woman.
By Sadho Ram — 10 Aug 2022, 11:13 AM
Former spy chief Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid has been granted a full acquittal by the High Court in a criminal breach of trust (CBT) case involving USD12.1 million (RM50.4 million) of funds from the government
Prior to this, Hasanah was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).
In its decision yesterday, 9 August, Kuala Lumpur High Court Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain fully discharged and acquitted the former Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) chief.
For the record, MEIO is no longer functional.
Roz Mawar made the ruling after allowing Hasanah's application to be freed of the charge after deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari did not object to it, reported New Straits Times.
"Based on the fact that the prosecution has no desire to conduct the case, Hasanah is acquitted and discharged from the charge under Section 409 of the Penal Code. It is unfair to let this hang over her head for over a year, and I don't think justice is served that way," Roz Mawar ruled.
Hasanah is now a free woman as she can no longer be charged and tried again for the same offence under Section 409 of the Penal Code
The former spy chief — one of the key officials in Najib Razak's administration — was arrested in August 2018 for misappropriating funds meant for the 2018 general election (GE14).
Hasanah was arrested with seven MEIO officers and a businessperson from Kelantan.
She had also reportedly sent a letter to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to support the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration even if they won GE14 by "just one seat". The letter asked for the CIA director to report to the US Secretary of State on "the complexity of managing" GE14 by Najib.
Following her arrest, she pleaded not guilty to the CBT charge involving RM50.4 million.
She was accused of committing the offence at the office of the director-general of the Research Division in the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya between 30 April and 9 May 2018.
In the High Court yesterday, her lawyer Suhaimi Ibrahim argued that the prosecution could not prove that Hasanah had misappropriated the funds meant for the government that she received in her capacity as director-general of the Research Division in the Prime Minister's Department.
