Once ACQUITTED, cannot be charged again for same offence - the possibly guilty gets off scot free - MACC/Prosecutor and courts cannot do anything - but the people still can do something? UMNO/BN can do something about Ahmad Maslan but....
Ahmad Maslan remains the Secretary General of UMNO and the BN? Well, if this is so, then will this not affect the IMAGE and credibility of these parties. Will it affect how people will vote during the upcoming Melaka State Elections, and future elections.
Ahmad Maslan was charged for 2 charges(see below for the charges), and then under the reign of the new BN-PN Plus government, prosecution discontinued mid-trial - and he was subsequently acquitted by the Judge.
He accepted a COMPOUND OFFER of RM1.1 million, and paid it. Will any innocent person accept such compound offers? An innocent person would endeavor to prove his/her innocence...and the best way was to go on with the trial, and hope that at the end of trial, the court finds you 'NOT GUILTY'. Acceptance and payment of compound is an acknowledgment of guilt. [For small offences, like speeding or not wearing safe mask, compound is not a problem - but for serious offences, compound must be abolished]
Former deputy finance minister and Pontian Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan was on Wednesday acquitted of charges of money laundering and giving a false statement against him after he agreed to pay a compound of RM1.1 million.
"This stems from the fact that the accused has accepted the offer of a compound and duly paid it. I hereby order the accused to be acquitted of the two charges and the hearing dates are vacated," the judge said.
Remember, Compounds are offered to the reasonably suspected, and one accepts and pay compounds to avoid being charged and tried in court. Normally, compound offers comes at a very early stage, certainly before one is charged in court ...but Ahmad Maslan's case is an ODDITY - as trial had begun and 24 witnesses had already testified...
Hence, Ahmad Maslan 'admitted' by paying the said compound - so, there is no question as to the innocence, is there?
Next, we know that Ahmad Maslan then in Parliament admitted receiving the monies from Najib - although he said it was only for a lesser amount of RM1.1 million, not RM2 million as per the charge. You steal RM1 or RM1,000, you are still guilty of theft..
So, after all this, what did UMNO and Barisan Nasional do? This is crucial as it tells you about the said parties..
Now, if it was an elected party position - i.e. the members of the party voted you as the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Supreme Council member, then the party cannot (or will find it very difficult) to remove someone from such elected position...BUT, in the case of Ahmad Maslan, he was NOT ELECTED BY MEMBERS to be UMNO SG - he was appointed by the UMNO '...party's supreme council meeting at Putra World Trade Center...' on 12/3/2020, and that means he could also be removed at any time by UMNO's leadership... But, he remains and has been a vocal spokesperson of the party until now..
When Ahmad Maslan was appointed UMNO SG, he was already charged - Well, that does not matter, as one is presumed innocent until convicted in court...'
That changed drastically when he ACCEPTED AND PAID THE OFFERED COMPOUND for that charges. He admitted wrongdoing.
Added on, his admission in Parliament to receiving a lesser sum..
TRUE that ACQUITTALS he received is a permanent bar that will protect him from being charged again for the same offence - But, that does not prove him INNOCENT, does it?
So, would not the maintaining of Ahmad Maslan in these party appointed position affect the party's image and credibility?
So, how will Malaysians react now?
Will UMNO and the BN demonstrate that they will not tolerate LYING to MACC(or Law Enforcement Agencies) and not declaring income received to Income Tax? Will UMNO and BN clarify that they are Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001? This can be done by maybe the removal of Ahmad Maslan from the position of Secretary General, and also taking maybe disciplinary action against him.
Will not taking action mean they are OK with such law breaking by their party members/leaders but not others?
Public Prosecutor and Courts may no longer have the power to act against Ahmad Maslan, despite his subsequent 'admission' but the people still have that power. They can choose not to vote for Ahmad Maslan and his parties(UMNO and BN).
If one votes for parties that have done wrong, indirectly the people are condoning law breaking - and maybe even preferential treatment of party members/leaders...
Worse is the fact that Ahmad Maslan seem to have not yet apologized for breaking Malaysian laws...or has he? If he apologizes, maybe people may forgive him...
Here, the 2nd charge against Ahmad Maslan is important - that was about making false statements
For the second charge, he was accused of making false statements to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials. He was charged under Section 32(8)(c) under the same Act, for the act allegedly committed in the Media Room in Parliament on July 4,2019.
In the case Ahmad Maslan, the first charge was money laundering by not declaring the RM2mil he allegedly received from former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when filing taxes for year 2013. He was charged in January 2020 under Section 4(1)(a) of Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 for the act which was allegedly committed on April 30,2014, at the Inland Revenue Board branch in Jalan Duta.
See earlier related posts:-
Public prosecutor must explain Ahmad Maslan’s acquittal, says group (Malaysian Insight)
Ahmad Maslan's acquittal raises much concern - a MADPET statement
Ahmad Maslan can bravely admit to the crime, because an Acquital means he can never be charged again for the said offences again?
Ahmad Maslan is new Umno sec-gen
- Nation
-
Thursday, 12 Mar 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has appointed Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (pic) as its new secretary-general and Shahril Hamdan as its information chief.
Ahmad Maslan, who is Pontian MP, will be replacing Tan Sri Annuar Musa who was recently appointed as the Federal Territories Minister.
Shahril, who was the party's deputy youth chief, will be replacing Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, who is now Energy and Natural Resources Minister.
"The president has announced the appointment of Ahmad Maslan as the new secretary-general and Shahril Hamdan as the party's information chief.
"We
congratulate the two of them," said Annuar Musa after the party's
supreme council meeting at Putra World Trade Center on Thursday (March
12). - Star, 12/3/2020
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