KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal has postponed delivering its judgement on former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad’s appeal against his guilty conviction and sentences a day before the scheduled proceeding.
As of time of publication, the reasons behind the postponement have not been disclosed.
The three-member bench comprising Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S.M. Komathy, on October 14, had reserved their judgement on Isa’s appeal after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence.
Isa had filed an appeal on February 4, 2021, a day after Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali (now Court of Appeal judge) found him guilty of nine bribery charges amounting to RM3 million in Felda acquisition of Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites in Kuching on February 3 the same year.
Nazlan also sentenced Isa to six years of jail for each charge which would run concurrently and a fine of RM15.45 million. The judge also ordered Isa to serve another 18 years in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
However, Isa was released on RM1.5 million bail pending his appeal and he was ordered to report himself to the nearest police station on the first of every month.
On November 3 this year, deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the Court of Appeal had scheduled to deliver its verdict on November 28. – November 27, 2023