Deputy public prosecutor Julia Ibrahim said the money trail stopped at Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd, in which the accused is a majority shareholder.
“There is no evidence that the RM2 million was transferred to the Umno headquarters or the party’s Kuala Kangsar or Sungai Besar divisions to be spent on by-elections then,” she said.
Julia said MACC investigating officer Muhamad Saad Bordani need not probe beyond that as that would amount to building a defence for the accused.
“At this stage, we only need to show the elements of the crime and need not do the work of the defence,” she said in her submission at the close of the prosecution’s case.
She said Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd director Chai Kin Kong transferred the money to Tadmansori Holdings because of his 40-year friendship with Tengku Adnan.
“He took it as face value to give the money and did not bother to check whether it went to Umno or was spent on the (Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar parliamentary) by-elections then,” she said.
Julia said the prosecution did not expect its witness, Mohd Hasbi Jaafar, the chief operating officer of Tadmansori Holdings, to give damaging evidence because he was an employee of the accused.
“Tengku Adnan was his boss and he will definitely testify in favour of the accused,” she submitted before trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.
Julia said the defence claimed that Tengku Adnan advanced money to Umno to fund the election campaigns but there is no proof it came from the RM2 million.
“We submit that the accused collected the money on the pretext of a political donation but it went to benefit himself.”
Julia said there was no dispute that the accused received the money when he was holding public office as MP and Federal Territories minister under the previous Barisan Nasional government.
She said Kuala Lumpur City Hall also came under the jurisdiction of the ministry that he led from 2013 to May last year.
Julia said Tengku Adnan had knowledge in the commission of the crime as he had invited several companies that Chai had interest in to participate in building houses for the poor and the needy in Kuala Lumpur.
“Applications to participate in projects were personally handed over by Chai to the accused,” she said, adding that Tengku Adnan also ordered City Hall officers to sell land and approve other applications for the housing projects to start.
Julia said the accused also “cooked up” a receipt for RM2 million after he was arrested by MACC last year.
“The receipt was fabricated and little weight should be given by this court,” she said.
Lawyer Tan Hock Chuan, who is representing Tengku Adnan, said political donations could not be a crime under Section 165 of the Penal Code.
“This is a test case. Leaders in and outside government will then be investigated under the provision,” he said, adding that Chai himself had admitted he had always donated money to the government and the opposition.
Zaini has tentatively fixed Oct 14 to decide whether Tengku Adnan should enter his defence or be acquitted if the prosecution fails to establish a prima facie case.
“I will not rush to make a ruling and will digest the submissions before coming to a decision,” he said.
Aset Kayamas was founded by Chai in 2011 and deals with housing development projects.
Tengku Adnan is charged with accepting RM2 million from Chai via a cheque belonging to Aset Kayamas, which was deposited into a bank account belonging to Tadmansori Holdings.
He allegedly committed the offence in his capacity as a public servant, as the federal territories minister, at CIMB Bank Bhd, in Pusat Bandar Damansara here on June 14, 2016.