Former Umno V-P gets 6 years' jail for corruption
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Isa Samad (in front) was convicted of corruption by the Malaysian High Court in a case involving a hotel deal inked in 2014, when he was chairman of Malaysia's Federal Land Development Authority.
PHOTO: BERNAMA
Ram Anand Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur , Ram Anand
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Former Umno warlord Isa Samad was sentenced to six years' jail yesterday, after he was convicted of corruption by the Malaysian High Court.
The case centred on a hotel deal inked while he was in charge of Malaysia's key land development agency, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).
Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali found the former politician guilty on nine counts of receiving gratification amounting to RM3 million between 2014 and 2015. Isa was also fined RM15.45 million (S$5.09 million).
He was granted a stay of execution for the sentence, pending an appeal, and was ordered to post bail of RM1.5 million by today. He was also ordered to report to the nearest police station once a month until the conclusion of his appeal.
The High Court found that Isa received the bribes when he approved the purchase of the five-star Merdeka Palace Hotel for RM160 million in 2014. The hotel was reportedly valued at RM110 million at the time of the sale.
He was also charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT), but was acquitted on this charge.
"The defence's arguments are inconsistent and appear to be an afterthought," Justice Nazlan stated in his verdict, saying that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Nazlan - who was transferred to the commercial court last month - also convicted former prime minister Najib Razak of corruption last July.
Before completing his transfer, the judge will continue to preside over other high-profile cases around the scandal-ridden state investment firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), including another CBT case involving Najib.
Isa, 71, is the third high-profile member of the former Barisan Nasional (BN) administration to be convicted of graft after corruption charges were brought against several former top government officials following Pakatan Harapan's victory in the 2018 general election.
Isa is a former Umno vice-president who quit the party in 2018 and later contested the Port Dickson by-election as an independent. He was Felda chairman between 2011 and 2017 and also previously served as Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar.
Even though BN is back in the government as part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition that came into power last March, many corruption trials remain as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin promised not to interfere with court cases.
Najib was the first high-profile politician to be convicted of graft, followed by Umno treasurer and former federal Cabinet minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor last December. Najib - who faces another four trials related to 1MDB - was sentenced to 12 years' jail, while Tengku Adnan was sentenced to one year's jail. Both sentences were suspended pending appeals.
