Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How said the application to cross-examine unit trust consultant Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, 45, who was the 25th prosecution witness, was made in accordance with Section 154 of the Evidence Act 1950.
“There is material discrepancy between the witness’s testimony in court and the recording of the conversation taken by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) during the investigation,” he said at the trial of the case before sessions court judge Rozina Ayob today.
Law told the court that the prosecution had handed over the recording of the witness’s conversation to the defence.
Lawyers Ridha Abdah Subri and K Kumaraendran, representing Bung and Zizie respectively, confirmed receiving the recording on Friday, but objected to the prosecution’s application on grounds that it was not made according to procedures.
Rozina set Feb 24 to hear the application and advised Norhaili not to communicate or discuss the case with any party, including the defence team, the accused and the investigating officer.
Earlier, during examination-in-chief by the prosecution, Norhaili maintained her testimony made on Jan 27 that Zizie was eligible to receive an introduction fee of RM2.8 million as the actress introduced her husband to obtain Felcra’s approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
She said the introduction fee for Zizie was part of her marketing strategy as the actress had also introduced a senior Felcra officer to make an investment.
On May 3, 2019, Bung pleaded not guilty to two charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM2.2 million and RM262,500 as an inducement to obtain Felcra’s approval to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trusts.
Bung, 64, who was the non-executive chairman of Felcra at the time, is accused of accepting bribes through Zizie at Public Bank’s Taman Melawati branch here between 12.30pm and 5pm on June 12, 2015.
He also pleaded not guilty to accepting an RM335,500 cash bribe from Norhaili through Zizie for the same reason and at the same place on June 19, 2015.
Zizie, 44, pleaded not guilty to three charges of abetting her husband in the matter at the same place, date and time.