Daim acquitted of charges after death

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin was acquitted on Wednesday by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in a case accusing him of failing to declare over 70 assets. The prosecution withdrew the charges following his death on November 13.

Judge Azura Alwi discharged the case after Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said the government had no intention to proceed with the trial.

In January, Daim was charged under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act for allegedly failing to declare assets, including luxury vehicles, properties, and companies in multiple states. The charge carried a penalty of up to five years in prison or a maximum fine of RM100,000.

Daim’s wife, Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, 67, who faces a separate charge of failing to declare assets, said she wanted her late husband’s case to continue, as he had expressed a strong desire for the trial to run its full course.

“It was his wish for the pending charge against him to be pursued in court until its conclusion,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“There is no need for the Attorney General or the MACC chief to review, discontinue, or withdraw the prosecution against Daim. We do not seek it," she added, describing the year-long investigation as “frivolous, malicious, and politically motivated.”