Prosecution applies to grant Ku Nan discharge not amounting to an acquittal

KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tenku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s RM1 million corruption case has applied to grant the Umno politician a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

The prosecution informed High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali of the decision at the onset of the resumption of the trial today.

Mohd Nazlan was informed that the prosecution decided to apply for the discharge not amounting to an acquittal as further investigation was needed into the case.

“We don’t want to waste the court’s time as we don’t know how long the investigation may take.

“Whether we will continue with the charge and file new charges or drop this case altogether will depend on the outcome of the investigation,” deputy public prosecutor Julia Ibrahim said.

The 69-year-old Putrajaya Member of Parliament is charged with corruptly receiving for himself RM1 million from businessman Datuk Tan Eng Boon, who had pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of abetting the politician and was fined RM1.5 million.

The money was deposited into Tengku Adnan’s CIMB Bank account as an inducement to assist the application by Nucleus Properties Sdn Bhd to increase the company’s plot ratio in regard to a development project on Lot 228, Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur.

Tengku Adnan also faces an alternative charge, in his capacity as Federal Territories Minister, of receiving for himself RM1 million from Tan via a Public Bank cheque belonging to Pekan Nenas Industries Sdn Bhd, which was deposited into his CIMB account, knowing that Tan, as a director of Nucleus Properties, had connections with his official duties.

The trial before justice Mohd Nazlan began on Sept 20 last year, with the prosecution calling two witnesses to testify. Nst