Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said that, of these 16 cases, 13 resulted in acquittals, while the defendants in the remaining three cases were given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

She said the AGC may decide to drop high-profile cases after considering the latest developments.

Sometimes, representations were sent in by defence lawyers or the accused may have become prosecution witnesses.

In some cases, the accused were imposed a fine instead, she said in her written reply to Abdul Hadi Awang (PN-Marang) about the government’s guarantee that the AGC would not drop high-profile cases that had gone to court.

Azalina said the initial decision to charge a suspect was made based on statements and facts obtained from investigations.

“The decisions made were done fairly, based on statements in the investigation papers,” she said, adding that this process was carried out with integrity to ensure the victim, witnesses, accused and the public would be treated fairly and justice was upheld.