Company director applies to strike out corruption charge in connection with takeover of KL Tower

• He was charged on April 5 with offering a bribe of RM500,000 a year for 15 years for the benefit of Tan Sri Annuar Musa in connection with the takeover of the KL Tower concession.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd director Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul has applied to strike out a corruption charge filed against him two months ago.

He was charged on April 5 with offering a bribe of RM500,000 a year for 15 years for the benefit of Tan Sri Annuar Musa in connection with the takeover of the KL Tower concession.

The notice was filed through the law firm of Messrs Chetan Jethwani & Company in the Sessions Court here on May 31.

This was confirmed by his lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad, at a proceeding before Sessions Court judge Suzana Hussin on Friday (June 2).

The notice was filed on the grounds that the charge against Abdul Hamid Shaikh, 49, was flawed and unfounded, as it did not meet the requirements for the offence under Section 16 (b)(B) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

It also stated that the charge failed to comply with the provisions of Sections 152, 153 and 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, because one of the important details in the charge, which is the date, was not specified in the charge.

Deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat from the MACC confirmed receiving the notice.

Suzana then set June 19 for both parties to file their written submissions, and July 18 to decide on the matter.

Hydroshoppe, as a commercial organisation, was also charged with committing the same offence with the same intention, and at a proceeding before judge Rozina Ayob, Amer Hamzah told the court that the defence had filed an application to stay proceedings for the case against the company, pending the disposal of the case facing Abdul Hamid Shaikh.

Meanwhile, Mahadi requested to transfer the case (involving Hydroshoppe as a commercial organisation) to another Sessions Court to be tried together with the case against Abdul Hamid Shaikh.

Amer Hamzah objected to the matter, and requested the prosecution to make the request in writing.

Rozina fixed July 5 to hear the applications by both parties.

Abdul Hamid Shaikh had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial to the charge of offering the bribe through Datuk Tan Ser Lay, 60, as an inducement for the then communications and multimedia minister to expedite the takeover process of the KL Tower concession by the company.

He was alleged to have committed the offence at the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia in Putrajaya between July and August 2022.