Appellate Court grants Na’imah permanent return of passport

The three-member bench, comprising Datuk Azizah Nawawi, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, set aside the Sessions Court's earlier decision, which had imposed a bail condition requiring the surrender of Na'imah's passport.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Azizah held that the Sessions Court judge, Azura Alwi, had erred in law by ordering the impounding of the passport without valid or reasonable justification.

The court noted that the prosecution, at the Sessions Court level, had sought the impounding of Na'imah's passport as an additional bail condition, asserting it was standard practice in similar cases.

However, Justice Azizah emphasised that the prosecution's reliance on such additional conditions disregarded established principles laid down by the Supreme Court.

These principles mandate that any additional bail conditions must be fair, reasonable, and directly related to ensuring the accused's attendance in court.

Justice Azizah observed, "We are of the opinion that there was no supporting evidence or explanation to justify the necessity of imposing the additional condition."

The Court of Appeal also dismissed the prosecution's preliminary objection challenging the competency of Na'imah's appeal.

Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid, the 67-year-old widow of the late Tun Daim Zainuddin, filed the appeal after the High Court declined her application to review the Sessions Court's decision to impound her passport as part of her bail conditions.

She was charged in the Sessions Court on Jan 23, 2024, for allegedly failing to comply with a notice requiring her to declare her assets, including Menara Ilham and several other properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The charge, brought under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment or a fine of RM100,000 upon conviction.

During the initial proceedings, Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi granted bail at RM250,000 with one surety and directed Na'imah to surrender her passport to the court.

Na'imah had previously obtained temporary releases of her passport on several occasions, permitting her to travel to Switzerland, Singapore, London, Venice, and China.

Her late husband, Tun Daim Zainuddin, a former Finance Minister, passed away on Nov 13 at the age of 86.

He had been acquitted by the Sessions Court in a separate matter on charges of failing to declare over 70 assets, following the prosecution's withdrawal of the charges.

In today's proceedings before the Court of Appeal, Na'imah was represented by counsel Datuk Dr. Gurdial Singh Nijar and Abraham Au, while deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA