“Corruption disrupts economic growth and denies the right of the people to obtain efficient services. It is akin to cancer and weakens democracy and the rule of law,” Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who convicted Isa in February, said in his 400-page written judgment.
Nazlan said the court had taken judicial notice that corruption was getting worse and rampant compared to the past era.
He said public interest was the overriding factor in determining the measure of punishment and the sentence must reflect the seriousness of the charges.
In this case, he said, the amount was high and the crime was planned by the accused who held high public office.
Nazlan said the nine charges against Isa were intimately connected.
He said that was the reason he imposed an appropriate sentence in accordance with the law after considering the mitigation and aggravating factors.
Isa’s defence, he said, was an afterthought and a bare denial which was not supported by evidence and could not be believed.
“The money obtained was gratification to approve the sale of the hotel,” he said, adding the prosecution proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.
On Feb 3, Nazlan sentenced Isa to six years in prison and fined him RM15.4 million after finding him guilty of nine counts of corruption involving RM3.09 million over Felda’s purchase of a hotel in Kuching in 2014.
He sentenced Isa to six years’ imprisonment on each of the nine counts, the jail terms to run concurrently.
However, he granted a stay of execution against the prison sentence and fine pending Isa’s appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Isa was freed on bail of RM1.5 million pending the outcome of his appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Isa, who was Felda chairman from January 2011 to January 2017, was initially slapped with one charge of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and nine counts of corruption over the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites in Kuching.
At the close of the prosecution’s case, the court acquitted him on the CBT charge and ordered him to defend the bribery charges.
The prosecution has filed an appeal on the acquittal.
Isa, also the longest-serving Negeri Sembilan menteri besar (1982-2004) and a former federal minister, was accused of receiving RM3.09 million in kickbacks for approving the purchase of the hotel.
Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FIC) paid RM160 million in 2014 for the purchase, which was reportedly at least 50% higher than the actual value of the property.
He was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine five times the gratification amount, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz told FMT the Court of Appeal has fixed case management on Nov 2.
It is learnt that Isa’s lawyers have yet to file the petition of appeal as the High Court has yet to provide the notes of proceedings to outline where the judge had erred in fact and law.