Bank Rakyat MD, chairman to submit preliminary objection against CBT charge

Bank Rakyat managing director Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak and its chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Zainal, will submit preliminary objection on the charge for criminal breach of trust (CBT), involving nearly RM15 million, made against them.

Lawyer Datuk Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, representing Mustafha, told the court that the objection would be filed on grounds that the charge was incomplete.

"According to Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the charge must state how the accused committed the alleged criminal breach of trust, which is not stated in the charge," he said.

However, Kamarul Hisham said he would wait for documents on the case from the prosecution before submitting the objection.

Earlier, the prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor Amir Nasruddin, informed the court that there were still documents which needed to be studied and requested for a new mention date.

Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing Abdul Aziz, also did not object to the prosecution's request.

The court set Nov 15 for case management.

Last Sept 7, Mustafha and Abdul Aziz pleaded not guilty to the charges made against them.

Mustafha, 48, was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code with criminal breach of trust of the bank's group allocation for marketing expenditure, involving RM14,991,283.20, which was entrusted to him at Menara Kembar Bank Rakyat, No. 33 Jalan Travers here last March 11.

Abdul Aziz, 65, was charged under Section 109 of the same law with abetting Mustafha in committing the alleged offence at the same place and date.

Both the men faced an imprisonment for up to 20 years, with whipping, and is liable to fine, if found guilty. -- Bernama