| Fadley Faisal |
IN THE Magistrate’s Court yesterday, 152 charges related to criminal breach of trust, money laundering and possession of unexplained property were pressed against two senior judicial officers, Ramzidah binti Pehin Datu Kesuma Diraja Colonel (Rtd) Haji Abdul Rahman and Haji Nabil Daraina bin Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin, who were arrested by the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) on July 21, 2018.
The court rejected the bail application of the couple after being arraigned by prosecutors in a case involving misappropriation huge sums of money from the court system.
Meanwhile, the defendants, represented by defence counsel Rozaiman Abdul Rahman, approached the High Court (HC) with an appeal against the Magistrate’s Court decision to refuse bail.
Justice Dato Seri Laila Jasa James Kerr Findlay, after considering arguments from both the prosecution and the defence, overturned the Magistrate’s Court decision and released both the defendants on a bail of BND100,000, or two local sureties each. Justice Dato Findlay also ordered for the defendants’ passports to be further impounded by the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau as well as both defendants to report to the Central Police Station every week.
Ramzidah and Haji Nabil Daraina were suspended from their judicial positions following investigations jointly led by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the RBPF and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) earlier this year.
The first defendant Ramzidah, Senior Registrar and Deputy Official Receiver of Bankruptcy Office, Supreme Court, State Judiciary Department of Brunei Darussalam, was charged with 146 offences of criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and fine.
The first defendant is alleged to have committed the offences of criminal breach of trust from 2004 to 2017.
She is accused of embezzling money collected from 41 debtor accounts in bankruptcy cases amounting to BND7,063,292.
Both defendants also face four charges of money laundering under Section 3 of the Criminal Asset Recovery Order, 2012.
Two of the money laundering charges allege the couple of depositing proceeds of crime derived from the alleged criminal breach of trust from the Official Receiver’s bank account to their personal joint account, amounting to BND300,000 and BND200,000, respectively.
The other two money laundering charges refer to allegations of using BND207,800 as part payment for the purchase of a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS car and BND93,000 to make partial payment for the purchase of a Mercedes Benz AMG GT RHD car.
The offence of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of a BND500,000 fine, or 10 years’ jail, or both.
Both defendants also face a charge of possession of unexplained property under Section 12(1) (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Chapter 131 as they are found to be in control of property, namely luxury cars, which are disproportionate to their present or past emoluments.
The first defendant is alleged to be in possession of a Mercedes Benz AMG GT RHD valued at BND241,065, a Mercedes Benz CLS 63 AMG Coupe Sports Package valued at BND265,000, an Audi Q7 3.0L Quattro Tiptronic worth BND141,150, a Jaguar F-Type 5.0L V8 S/C RWD worth BND220,000, a Range Rover Sport 5.0L V8 S/C Petrol worth BND245,000, a Porsche Macan Turbo worth BND176,000, a Mercedes Benz SLK 55 Sports Package worth BND158,500 and a Range Rover Sport 5.0 S/C Autobiography worth GBP58,000.
The total value of the cars is estimated to be BND1,446,715 and GBP58,000.
The second defendant is alleged to be in possession of a Mercedes Benz A45 AMG worth BND95,000, a Mercedes Benz AMG GT S worth BND335,000, an Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic worth BND89,150, a Chrysler 300C SRT8 worth BND98,000, a Jaguar F-Type 3.0L V6 S/C RWD worth BND150,000, a Nissan GTR Premium worth BND219,029, a Porsche Cayman worth BND139,000, a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS worth BND217,800, a Porsche Cayman GT4 valued at BND183,000, a Volkswagen Golf R 2.0 TSI valued at BND77,000, a Volkswagen Scirocco R 2.0 TSI valued at BND85,000 and a Volkswagen Golf A7 1.4 TSI valued at BND70,000. The total value of the cars is BND1,757,979.
In the Magistrate’s Court, the Public Prosecutor, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutors Aldila binti Haji Mohd Salleh, Hajah Anifa Rafiza binti Haji Abdul Ghani, Hajah Suriana binti Haji Radin, Dayangku Didi-Nuraza binti Pengiran Haji Abdul Latiff, Emily Goh and Siti Nurjauinah binti Haji Kula applied for the defendants to be further remanded pending further investigations, to allow the RBPF to record statements as well as to obtain explanations from the defendants with regard to documentary evidence in regard to various bank transactions relating to the Official Receiver’s account as well as their joint bank account.
The prosecution further argued that the remand period is necessary for both the RBPF and the ACB to conduct investigations without being impeded as well as investigate both the defendants separately to establish their roles in the alleged criminal activities and prevent both of them from colluding with each other and tailoring evidence.
It was also argued that the remand is necessary to prevent any risk of witness tampering.
Acting Chief Magistrate Lailatul Zubaidah binti Haji Mohd Hussain considered both parties’ arguments and agreed with the prosecution and said that the bail application at this stage is premature.
The court then adjourned the case to August 2, 2018 and ordered the further remand of the defendants for 10 days separately at the Central and Berakas police stations.
But the High Court overturned the Magistrate’s Court’s decision and released the defendants on bail.