On Thursday (9 Nov), the Malaysian High Court found Syed Saddiq — the country’s former youth and sports minister — guilty of corruption charges.
The charges include abetting in criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property, and money laundering.
The 30-year-old was sentenced to seven years’ jail, two strokes of the cane, and a RM10 million (S$2.9 million) fine.
The Muar Member of Parliament (MP), however, said he would clear his name and planned on appealing the sentence.
According to The New Straits Times (NST), the Malaysian high court deemed Syed Saddiq guilty of criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds, and two counts of money laundering on Thursday (9 Nov).
This came after High Court judge Azhar Abdul Hamid ruled that the defence was not able to cast reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
Found guilty on all four charges, the 30-year-old was sentenced to:
The trial for the case began on 21 June 2022. and the former minister was forced to enter a defence last October after the prosecution successfully established a prima facie case against him.
For abetting criminal breach of trust, he received three years’ jail and one stroke of the cane.
According to The Star, he committed the offence by abetting a former official of the Bersatu Party’s youth wing — otherwise known as Armada — in the misappropriation of RM1 million (S$290,259).
Armada had reportedly entrusted the funds to the official.
The court also sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and one stroke of the cane for the misuse of property.
This included misappropriating RM120,000 (S$34,831.09) from the Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to the Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise.
Syed Saddiq also received two years’ jail and a RM5-million (S$1.4 million) fine for each money laundering charge. The sentence will run concurrently.
The Star reports that Syed Saddiq plans on filing an appeal to clear his name.
“I will use the court, the judicial system to clear my name. As a policymaker, I must trust the judiciary and I respect the court’s decision today,” said Syed Saddiq.
Source: The Star
Syed Saddiq also said he would share his decision on his current position in the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) later today (9 Nov) after meeting with party members and leaders.
The 30-year-old has served as MUDA’s president since Sep 2020.
Syed Saddiq said the guilty verdict was “difficult to swallow“, but said he would accept the criticism that comes with it.
“To be the kind of leader who can do the best for the country, one must be whiter than white to realise the Malaysian dream. I will accept any criticism because I am no different from any other person in this country,” said the Muar MP.
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Featured image adapted from The Star.
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