Kuala lumpur: Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd and its director will stand trial in the High Court over allegations that they offered former minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa RM500,000 annually for 15 years in connection with the takeover of the Kuala Lumpur Tower concession. High Court Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin made the ruling after allowing Hydroshoppe and its director, Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh, to transfer their trial from the Sessions Court.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Justice Noor Ruwena stated that it is too early to determine if the charge could lead to double jeopardy or is duplicitous, as the charges are two distinct offences. However, she found merit in the application due to the unusual difficulty of the legal issues involved, which warranted the trial being heard in the High Court.
In her judgment, Justice Noor Ruwena noted that the court was convinced by the applicants' argument that the trial involved legal issues that could pose unusual difficulties if heard in the Sessions Court. Although Hydroshoppe and its director are distinct legal entities, the judge emphasized the importance of joint trials due to overlapping facts and prosecution witnesses.
The court will set the next case management date later. Previously, on May 15, lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing the accused, highlighted that the charges against Abdul Hamid Shaikh and Hydroshoppe were separate but stemmed from the same alleged conduct. This raised concerns about potential self-incrimination and double jeopardy.
Deputy public prosecutor Farah Ezlin Yusop Khan countered that double jeopardy was not applicable as the charges involved different parties and offences under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. The alleged offence by Abdul Hamid took place between July and August 2022 and involved offering a bribe to expedite the Kuala Lumpur Tower concession takeover.
Abdul Hamid was charged under Section 16(b)(B) of the MACC Act 2009. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison or a fine of at least five times the bribe's value, or RM10,000, whichever is greater. Hydroshoppe also faces charges under Section 17A(1)(a) of the same Act, which could result in up to 10 years' imprisonment or a fine of RM1 million, or 10 times the bribe's value, whichever is higher, if convicted.