10/09/2025

WEDNESDAY | SEPT 10, 2025

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MACC unveils latest prominent cases

o Recent ops involve highest levels of politics, business and civil service

Azam also provided an update on Op Sohor, which led to the arrest of five senior army officers and six civilians. Investigations are complete, with four officers set to face charges, one to face disciplinary action by the Defence Ministry and the six civilians still under review. Separately, Op Sky, involving bank officers accused of corruption, has concluded. Azam said about 20 officers would be charged in court by late September or early October. He also said investigations into former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad are ongoing, with assets in the UK under review. He added that while MACC leads investigations, the authority to prosecute lies with the DPP and AGC. “We are the executive officers. Prosecution is independent, and we cannot control their timeline.”

whether any party would face criminal charges. Meanwhile, a Kuala Lumpur City Hall grade JUSA B officer was arrested along with three businessmen over alleged corruption in the sale of assets tied to city hall projects. Investigators seized more than RM17.5 million across 37 accounts, RM1.15 million in cash, foreign currencies, luxury handbags and shoes and two vehicles. “The probe is almost complete and (the findings) will be submitted to the DPP with proposed charges.” On corporate matters, MACC confirmed it reached an agreement with Sapura Energy Berhad’s lawyers to recover RM12 million linked to a 2018 transaction. The sum will be forfeited and returned to the government, while a separate overseas probe continues.

parties before the DPP decided no charges could be pursued under the MACC Act 2009 or the Penal Code. Three Sabah state assemblymen, including Datuk Albert Tei, have been charged, while decisions on others remain pending with the AGC. On another case, he said RM170 million seized in a probe linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was declared government property after the High Court on Sept 8 allowed MACC’s forfeiture application, which went uncontested by the respondents. “This means the money has officially become government property and the process to transfer it into the consolidated fund will begin immediately,” he said, adding that the DPP has not decided

underscored progress in asset recovery but also the difficulty of translating investigations into criminal prosecutions, with several cases still awaiting decisions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and DPP. Addressing allegations that a company linked to Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador obtained approval to explore minerals in Sabah, Azam said an application was conditionally approved by Sabah Mineral Management but subsequently cancelled in March 2025 after the firm failed to submit required documents. “No exploration was carried out and no criminal or governance issues were found. The case is closed,” he said, adding that investigators recorded statements from state officials and relevant “This case involves huge sums of money, with charges spanning corruption, money laundering and misappropriation,” he said, describing it as a landmark investigation. The MEX II project, awarded to Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd, has long drawn scrutiny over alleged financial irregularities and questionable transactions. On Monday, Abu Sahid was formally charged in court with four counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM313 million and 13 counts of money laundering totalling RM139.2 million. The CBT charges, filed under Section 409 of the Penal Code, carry a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, caning and a fine. Yap was separately indicted on 17 counts of submitting falsified documents, progress claims valued between RM9 million and RM28 million each, between June 2017 and April 2018. Both Abu Sahid and Yap pleaded not guilty. Abu Sahid, who arrived in court in a wheelchair, was granted bail of RM1.5 million on one surety, while Yap was released on RM1 million bail. – By Harith Kamal

Ű BY HARITH KAMAL newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PUTRAJAYA: Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has lifted the lid on a string of high-profile probes, detailing millions of ringgit in seized assets, looming prosecutions and investigations reaching into the highest levels of politics, business and the civil service. Its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the latest operations The Malaysian

Tycoon to face new charges over highway scandal

PUTRAJAYA: Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is preparing to press fresh charges against business tycoon Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed and several others over the multi-billion ringgit MEX II scandal. Its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said Abu Sahid, his wife Puan Sri Noor Azrina Mohd Azmi and former Mex II Sdn Bhd director Datuk Yap Wee Leong had been charged. “The second round of prosecutions will see Abu Sahid face seven additional charges under Section 403 of the Penal Code read together with Section 109,” Azam announced at a press conference at the MACC headquarters yesterday. Yap currently faces 18 charges, nine under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009 involving RM209 million and another nine under Section 401 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 involving RM387 million. Azam added that nine more individuals are lined up for prosecution over their alleged role in handling funds linked to Abu Sahid, with charges expected to be filed by the end of September. The Malaysian

CRIME CAR ... Malacca police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar (left) with a luxury vehicle seized from an online syndicate using the state as a hub for scam calls. – BERNAMAPIC

No bruises, signs of abuse found on body of Zara Qairina: Doctor KOTA KINABALU: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Emergency and Trauma Department medical officer Dr Janefer Voo told the Coroner’s Court yesterday that no bruises or signs of abuse were found on Zara Qairina Mahathir’s body when she received the teenager for examination on July 16. and internal bleeding. “Due to the victim’s critically low blood pressure, it was suspected that the teenager had sustained internal injuries caused by a high-impact force, which resulted in internal bleeding,” she said while reading out her witness statement on the fourth day of the inquest proceedings into the teenager’s death. Zaman Ahmad regarding the victim’s “survival rate” when brought to the emergency department, Voo said she was unsure at the time but, based on the initial assessment, only knew that the victim was in a very critical condition.

stabilising her. “I did not see any police officers or the victim’s mother at the emergency department on the day of the incident.“ The inquest proceedings before the coroner Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan continued after lunch break. Zara Qairina, 13, died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on July 17, a day after she was found unconscious in a drain near her school dormitory in Papar at 4am. On Aug 8, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) issued an order to exhume Zara Qairina’s body to enable a post-mortem to be conducted and on Aug 13, it ordered an inquest after reviewing the investigation report submitted by police. – Bernama

right leg. “(There was also) an open fracture at the end of the tibia bone, ankle and heel of the left leg. The second, third and fourth lumbar vertebrae were also broken.” Voo said besides herself, several other staff, including paramedics and a superior officer named Dr Rahim, as well as other doctors from the trauma team were involved in the initial treatment. Responding to a question by lawyer Rizwandean M. Borhan, representing Zara Qairina’s family, she said the team did not contact the police when the patient was taken to the emergency department because the victim was in a critical condition and priority was given to

She explained that the patient’s blood test results showed several abnormalities, including a high white blood cell count and a potassium level in the medium-low range, which could have been caused by the body’s physiological stress response to trauma. “The x-ray results found that the patient suffered a closed fracture of the end of the radius bone of the right hand, a closed fracture of the end of the tibia bone and the ankle of the

Voo, 32, said the Form One student was brought to the department by an assistant medical officer and an ambulance team in an unconscious state, but the mechanism of injury was not known at the time. “The examination results found that there were no bruises or signs of abuse on the patient’s body. However, it indicated that she was suspected to have suffered severe brain injuries

She added that a trauma alert was activated at 4.42am to enable an immediate referral to the neurosurgery, orthopaedics, surgery and anaesthesiology departments, while resuscitation procedures were simultaneously carried out on the victim. Questioned by case officer Deputy Chief Prosecutor II Datuk Badius