[UPDATED] Former Felda chief pleads not guilty to cheating over land transfer

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Felda director-general Datuk Faizoull Ahmad pleaded not guilty today to a charge of cheating the agency's board of directors into approving a power of attorney that resulted in the transfer of ownership of 16 Felda land parcels in 2014.

Faizoull, 66, entered his plea after the charge was read out before Sessions Court judge Suzana Hussin.

"I understand the charge. I plead not guilty," he said from the dock.

According to the charge, Faizoull, who was Felda director-general at the time, had dishonestly concealed from the board that a power of attorney dated June 3, 2014, had granted Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd the authority to transfer ownership of Felda-owned land involved in the proposed development of Felda lots at Jalan Semarak.

He was alleged to have dishonestly induced the Felda board of directors to approve the power of attorney. This resulted in ownership of the 16 parcels being transferred to Synergy Promenade KLVC Sdn Bhd and Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd.

The offence was allegedly committed on Sept 2, 2014, at the Felda Board Meeting Room on Level 50 of Menara Felda, Platinum Park, Persiaran KLCC.

Deputy public prosecutor N. Joy Jothi sought bail of RM100,000 with one surety.

She submitted that the offence was serious and asked the court to order the accused to surrender his passport and report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) once a month.

Lawyer Datuk Sukri Mohamed, however, asked the court to reduce the bail to RM30,000.

He argued that RM100,000 would be excessive and beyond his client's means.

Sukri said his client had fully cooperated with police and MACC since 2018, including attending MACC on Sept 6 before he was remanded for five days.

He said his client had previously faced two charges of abetting another former Felda senior officer in relation to RM47.63 million in criminal breach of trust in 2018.

The case concluded at the Court of Appeal on Sept 3 last year, when his client was acquitted, he said.

Sukri also said the accused's passport had been impounded from Dec 2018 until Sept 24, 2022, for more than four years.

"There was no evidence during that period that my client had attempted to abscond or failed to cooperate with MACC.

"He attended all previous court proceedings without fail.

"He willingly attended court today when he was told to accept the notice to attend," he said.

Sukri submitted that bail should be reasonable, as its purpose was to ensure the accused's attendance in court and not to punish him.

He cited the case of former Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Zaid Abdul Jalil, who was granted RM60,000 bail after being charged with two counts of cheating the company's board over a proposed commercial development involving Felda land in Jalan Semarak yesterday.

Sukri argued that, as his client faced only one charge, the bail should be halved to RM30,000.

"He was a former civil servant who had been seconded to Felda and was now receiving a pension.

"He had also repeatedly provided declarations of his assets to police and MACC since 2018," he said.

In reply, Joy said the two previous charges against the accused arose from a separate case and should not be taken into consideration in determining bail for the present charge.

She also argued that the fact that the accused's passport had been impounded for four years should not be given much weight.

She said the restriction itself meant he could not abscond.

On Zaid's case, she said it involved different charges under Section 417 of the Penal Code and should likewise not be taken into consideration.

Although bail was at the court's discretion, Joy maintained that RM100,000 was appropriate.

Sukri then told the court that his client had been asked to provide RM100,000 in cash as surety in the previous case.

He said the amount was still in MACC custody and could take months to be released.

He argued that imposing another RM100,000 bail would amount to double punishment.

"This is merely to secure his attendance in court. He was a government servant, not a corporate figure," he said.

Suzana granted bail at RM70,000 with one surety and ordered the accused to surrender his passport and report to the MACC office once a month.

The court fixed Nov 6 for mention.

After the proceedings, Sukri said Faizoull's son would be posting the bail.