The cash had been seized from the chambers in the Kuala Kubu Bharu courthouse then occupied by Azmil Muntapha Abas between July 22 and July 26, 2019.
Azmil had claimed the sum was a loan given by his friend and contractor Leong Peng Woon to enable him to buy an auctioned house in Hulu Selangor that same year.
A loan agreement had been drawn up for the purpose, he had claimed.
However, the “loan” narrative was disputed by prosecutors, who claimed the MACC investigation showed that the money was a “bribe” paid to Azmil by a lawyer.
The sum was paid by Noor Amirul Nazreen Anas through Khairul Azhwa Yusrie Mohamad.
In her decision today, judicial commissioner Wendy Ooi said the sessions court did not err when allowing the government’s application to forfeit the money.
She said Azmil’s affidavits had not rebutted the prosecution’s assertions that the payment was a bribe.
“The failure by the respondent (Azmil) to rebut the claim was seen as an admission,” Ooi said.
The court also questioned Azmil’s action of “hiding” the cash in his chambers for more than a month before the MACC raid.
“(A sum of) RM182,100 is a large sum of money, and it should not be kept in chambers.
“This clearly shows that the RM182,100 was not a ‘loan’. If it was a loan, the respondent (Azmil) could easily show the authorities by producing the loan’s terms of agreement,” Ooi said.
The High Court was hearing an appeal from a decision by sessions court judge Rozilah Salleh handed down on Nov 23, 2021.
In her ruling, Rozilah had rejected Azmil’s actions and statements as an “afterthought”. She also found that there was no evidence to support his contention the money was a loan.
Azmil, Amirul and Khairul were previously charged with receiving a RM17,500 bribe from Wong Chiew Hoong as an inducement for the magistrate to hand down lenient sentences against illegal immigrants.
The trio were acquitted of the charge on Oct 28, 2021.
However, Azmil was found guilty and sentenced to six months’ jail on a separate offence for receiving a RM5,000 bribe.