Rosli, 46, a partner in Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, was alleged to have not complied with the terms of a notice dated July 17, 2007, issued by the Prosecutor under Section 32(1)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, to give full information relating to his assets.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The one-time Director of the CCD, Datuk Ramli Yusoff, is now on trial for the ‘crime’ of not disclosing his assets. The government is not concerned with how he acquired those assets basically because he did not acquire them illegally but in the proper manner according to the statement of accounts he submitted. So the only ‘crime’ they can pin on him is for not disclosing what he is worth.
Ramli then engaged a lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, to represent him. And Rosli submitted a stack of documents to prove that the allegation against Ramli are unfounded and that he in fact had declared all his assets as required. Therefore, there is no basis for the allegation and there is no case against Ramli.
The government responded by also arresting and charging Rosli for the crime of not declaring his assets. Why must a lawyer declare his assets? Do any of the other 25,000 Malaysian lawyers also have to declare their assets or is this only applicable to Rosli who, coincidentally, happens to be defending the head of the CCD whom the government is out to hang?
Read Part 2 of this series and as we go on with the next series we shall reveal even more damaging evidence involving those who walk in the corridors of power.
Lawyer charged with hiding information on his assets
13 October 2007
KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer Rosli Dahlan was charged at a Sessions Court here with not disclosing all information on his assets in his sworn statement last month.
Rosli, 46, a partner in Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, was alleged to have not complied with the terms of a notice dated July 17, 2007, issued by the Prosecutor under Section 32(1)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, to give full information relating to his assets.
Under the notice, the date of which had been extended to Aug 16, he was required to disclose all information, written under oath.
Rosli, who is married to a lawyer and has three children, was accused of committing the offence at the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s office in the Anti-Corruption Agency’s headquarters in Putrajaya on Sept 21. He claimed trial to the charge yesterday.
If convicted, he can be sentenced up to 20 years' jail and fined a maximum of RM100,000.
ACA officer Saiful Ezral Arifin lodged a report over the matter on Oct 8.
DPP Kevin Morais urged the court to set bail at RM20,000 in one surety and for Rosli's passport to be impounded.
Pleading for lower bail, lead counsel Datuk K. Kumaraendran asked the court to consider that his client had fully co-operated with ACA.
Kumaraendran urged the court to not impound Rosli’s passport, saying that his client had to travel regularly because of his involvement in arbitration work.
He said there was no likelihood of his client absconding, noting that Rosli has a family here.
Rosli then sought permission from Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah to address the court.
Rosli said the timing of ACA to charge him a day before Hari Raya was “calculated to humiliate him. I have suffered enough. If I go to the mosque tomorrow or if I dared to go, I will be a subject of scorn and ridicule,” he said.
He also told Komathy that he stood in dock very sad because of the manner he was “apprehended” by ACA officers.
Kumaraendran said ACA officers arrested his client at his office at 2.30pm on Thursday and that they handcuffed him tightly.
He said a senior ACA officer also threatened to punch Rosli.
DPP Kevin, however, said that there was a counter report of abusive conduct by Rosli when ACA officers approached him.
Komathy granted him bail of RM20,000 in one surety and set five days from April 21 next year for trial. He posted bail. – The Star
Malaysia Charges Top Police Official With Corruption Following Investigation
1 November 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: One of Malaysia's top ranked police officers was arrested and charged with corruption Thursday (1 Nov) for allegedly concealing massive wealth.
Ramli Yusoff, director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, was charged with failing to reveal that he owned property worth about 1 million ringgit (US$300,000) and 154,000 shares of unspecified value in a manufacturing firm. It is not known how much the shares are worth.
The country's third-highest ranking police officer, Ramli was also charged with breaching government employee rules by being the director of a separate company. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Ramli, the country's third-highest ranking police officer, was freed on 20,000 ringgit bail (US$5,700). The trial is scheduled to start 15 Jan.
He pleaded innocent to the charges in court and claimed he was a victim of the Anti-Corruption Agency, which investigated him. He also accused the police force of failing to back him up.
Ramli, 55, had stunned the police force by holding a news conference Monday (29 Oct), when he told reporters he was being investigated for allegedly concealing assets worth 27 million ringgit (US$8.1 million).
He insisted he and other members of the department have been "mistreated by the ACA and are yet to be protected by their own force."
Ramli's lawyer, K. Kumarendran, said Ramli's 38-year career in the Royal Malaysian Police was now in jeopardy.
"The current charge has cast a shadow on his character and credibility as a respectable senior officer," the lawyer told the court.
The ACA said he is the most senior police officer ever charged with corruption in independent Malaysia's history.
The Star daily said in an editorial Thursday the case exposed an unprecedented level of enmity within Malaysia's police force.
"No one can deny the talk of disunity within the top brass of the force," the paper said. "Still, the power play is somewhat scary, if not macabre, to most Malaysians who have never witnessed such open tension within the police force."
Malaysia's more than 90,000-member police force has long suffered a reputation for bribery, inefficiency and failure to respect human rights.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi vowed to reduce corruption after taking power in 2003, but critics say his efforts have shown scant success, with few major arrests or convictions. (By JULIA ZAPPEI/ AP)
Ramli Yusuff trial: Sisters played no role in firm, says witness
19 January 2008
KUALA LUMPUR : Although Datuk Ramli Yusuff's two sisters were the only directors of an investment holding company, its management was run by Ramli and a lawyer friend.
Former company secretary Leong Kuy Leng told the Sessions Court yesterday that Rohmah @ Hasmah and Roslina had been directors of Bonus Circle Sdn Bhd since 1999.
Leong, 52, said that although she was the company secretary for Bonus Circle from Jan 26, 1999, to July 19, 2005, she had never met the two sisters.
She said all the dealings were done through Ramli, his lawyer friend Rosli Dahlan and Ramli's personal assistant Salasiah Lope Shaari.
"Throughout my dealings with the company's documents and resolutions, the instructions were mostly given by these three," she said, adding that she was appointed by Rosli.
"I have never dealt with Rohmah or Roslina."
She said usually when she went to get instructions from Rosli in his office, Ramli would also be there.
"Sometimes Salasiah will give me instructions or instruct a policeman to take documents to my office in Menara Maybank."
Leong also said as company secretary, she had to record minutes and prepare documents for the company, including calling for its annual general meeting.
Replying to questions from DPP Zulkarnain Hassan, the witness said that a Bonus Circle resolution showed the authorised signatories for two current accounts in Hock Hua Bank and Maybank were that of the two sisters and Ramli.
She said that on March 8, 1999, the company passed a resolution to purchase two office blocks in Megan Avenue II in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng worth more than RM1.032 million.
She said the property was rented out but she did not know the income.
Leong also said that on May 24, 2000, the company passed a resolution to purchase 9,631 square feet of bungalow land in Johor Baru worth RM1.047 million.
Ramli, 55, who is now suspended, was the third highest ranking policeman in the country. He is charged with non-declaration of:
- two office lots at Megan Avenue II, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, held by Bonus Circle where his sisters, Roslina and Rohmah @ Hasmah are directors. The two properties are worth RM1.032 million;
- owning 154,000 shares in Permaju Industries Bhd, an investment holding company with its subsidiaries involved in the manufacturing and sale of plywood; and
- owning 20,000 shares of Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
All three offences were allegedly committed at the Anti- Corruption Agency DPP's office in Putrajaya on Sept 17 last year.
Rosli, 46, was charged at the Sessions Court on Oct 12 last year with failing to declare his assets in connection with Ramli's case.
Rosli's trial is fixed from April 21 to 25.
Leong said that on July 7, 1999, the company also passed a resolution to obtain a RM500,000 overdraft and a RM200,000 fixed-loan facility to purchase the Megan Avenue II property.
"The two sisters along with Ramli stood as guarantors."
Questioned further by Zulkarnain, the witness agreed that although six AGMs were held, the sisters did not turn up for any of them but she was instructed by Ramli and Rosli to prepare their minutes and the resolutions as if they had been present.
Another witness, Zamiah Abdul, 42, a former commissioner for oaths attached to the Anti-Narcotics Division in Bukit Aman, said that she was instructed by Salasiah to go to Ramli's office on Jan 25, 1997.
"I was told to bring my rubber stamp as Ramli wanted me to certify several documents," she said.
"I went to Ramli's office and certified the form of transfer of securities of Bonus Circle and a statutory declaration of the two sisters being appointed as directors."
Zamiah said the sisters signed the two documents and she (Zamiah) was asked to certify the documents.
"I acted on instructions by Ramli as he was my superior."
Judge Datin Zabariah Mohd Yusoff fixed Feb 5 for mention to set further hearing dates. – The New Straits Times
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