Mustapha Ali, 63, said the money was received via a cheque from a trader, Syed Mohsin Syed Sagaf, at the end of March 2014 once the work was completed.
“I deposited the cheque into a Public Islamic Bank account in the name of Zam Engineering & Construction that belongs to my wife Hamidah Basir and my friend’s daughter Nur Faizah Zulkifli.
“I have (since) returned the RM63,800 to Syed Mohsin via three Public Islamic Bank cheques,” he said.
Mustapha said this when reading his witness statement in the trial of the former Felda chairman, who is facing charges of failing to declare RM1 million received from former prime minister Najib Razak to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
The 13th prosecution witness said he had submitted a quotation amounting to RM63,800 to Shahrir on Syed Mohsin’s instructions and that the claim had been made in the name of Zam Engineering & Construction.
“Syed Mohsin asked me to prepare a quotation for Tan Sri Shahrir as he had used his money as an advance to buy items to repair the roof and pay my wages and also my workers’, but he had yet to claim the expenses from Tan Sri Shahrir,” he said.
Mustapha also said sometime in October 2013, he and Syed Mohsin had been discussing their respective careers when Syed Mohsin mentioned the Puri Langkasuka project that he was involved in, upon Shahrir’s instructions.
“As I was without a project at the time, I asked Syed Mohsin if he needed workers to carry out the repairs,” Mustapha, who has known Syed Mohsin for about 30 years, said.
Syed Mohsin then agreed to the idea, with payments to be made by Shahrir himself, Mustapha testified.
Meanwhile, Mustapha agreed with lawyer Syahrul Syazwan Salehin, who represented Shahrir, that the roof renovation work was done on an abandoned project.
The witness, however, said he was not sure whether Syed Mohsin had informed him during the meeting that the project was to relocate squatter settlement residents to a more comfortable and better place.
Shahrir, 72, is charged with money laundering, by not stating his real income in the income tax return form for assessment year 2013, which is a violation of Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967, on the RM1 million, believed to be from unlawful activities, which he received from Najib through a cheque.
He is charged with committing the offence at LHDN, Duta Branch, Government Office Complex, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim, here, on April 25, 2014.
The charge, framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, provides a maximum fine of RM5 million, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both if found guilty.
The trial before judge Jamil Hussin continues tomorrow.