Chronology of Syed Saddiq's Armada funds case

KUALA LUMPUR: Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was sentenced to seven years in prison, two strokes of the cane and a fine of RM10 million by the High Court today, after he was found guilty of four charges related to the misappropriation of Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda (Armada) funds.

The former Youth and Sports Minister was sentenced to three years imprisonment and one stroke of the cane for abetting a criminal breach of trust (CBT).

He received two years in prison and one stroke of the cane for misappropriation of assets, and two years and a RM5 million fine for each of the two money laundering charges, or serve another four years in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

The prison sentence for abetting the CBT and misappropriation of property was ordered to run consecutively, while the sentence for money laundering is to run concurrently, starting today.

However, the court allowed Syed Saddiq's application for a stay of execution pending the filing of an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The following is a chronology of the case:

July 22, 2021 - Syed Saddiq was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with abetting a criminal breach of trust for the sum of RM1 million and misappropriating RM120,000 of Armada's funds for the 14th general election campaign.

Aug 5, 2021 - Syed Saddiq was charged with two counts of money laundering for the sum of RM100,000 in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court. The court allowed the case to be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to be jointly tried with the other charges he was facing.

Aug 23, 2021 - Syed Saddiq applied for all the four charges to be jointly tried in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Nov 25, 2021 - High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed the application.

March 24, 2022 - The prosecution submitted two amended charges in relation to the abetment of criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges, and Syed Saddiq pleaded not guilty to both.

June 21, 2022 - First day of trial for all the charges faced by Syed Saddiq before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid.

July 7, 2022 - The defence applied to impeach the key witness, Rafiq Hakim Razali, following discrepancies between his witness statement and oral testimony in court, but the application was dismissed.

July 8, 2022 - Syed Saddiq apologised to the court for sharing a post on his social media platform regarding the case.

July 21, 2022 - Azhar cautioned the public not to cross the line while making statements about the case on social media.

July 22, 2022 - Syed Saddiq applied to impeach the key witness (Rafiq Hakim) again, following discrepancies in the statement recorded by MACC and the oral testimony in court. The court dismissed it.

Sept 27, 2022 - The prosecution closed its case after calling 30 witnesses.

Oct 6, 2022 - Both the prosecution and defence submitted their closing arguments at the end of the prosecution case.

Oct 28, 2022 - The High Court ordered Syed Saddiq to enter his defence on the four charges.

Feb 22, 2023 - Syed Saddiq testified in the defence proceedings.

March 14, 2023 - The defence closed its case after calling in four witnesses.

April 10, 2023 - The defence and prosecution submitted their closing arguments at the end of the defence case.

Sept 4, 2023 - The High Court allowed Syed Saddiq's application for the return of his passport temporarily to enable him to attend a youth leadership forum in Indonesia.

-- BERNAMA