Justice Azizah Nawawi, who led a three-member bench, said the sessions court judge erred in law when ordering for Naimah Khalid’s passport to be impounded earlier this year.
“There was no valid reason given for making the order,” said Azizah, who sat with Justices Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin.
She also set aside the High Court ruling affirming the sessions court’s decision on Jan 23.
She said there was no supporting evidence or explanation to justify Naimah’s surrender of her passport to the court.
“The prosecution’s reliance on the practice of imposing additional conditions went against the rationale of a Supreme Court ruling that any condition must be fair, reasonable, and directly related to ensuring that the accused attends court proceedings,” she said.
Naimah claimed trial before the sessions court to a charge of failing to comply with the terms of an asset declaration notice under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.
She was accused of failing to declare her ownership of companies, several plots of land here and in Penang, as well as two vehicles. The offence allegedly took place on Dec 13, 2023.
If found guilty, Naimah could face up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of not more than RM100,000.
Naimah was previously allowed bail of RM250,000 with one surety and her passport surrendered to the court as part of her bail conditions.
Her application to review the session’s court ruling was dismissed by the High Court, which agreed with the prosecution that she was a potential flight risk.
Earlier today, her lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar submitted that the additional condition was unnecessary as the bail amount was already high.
He added that the prosecution, as the custodian of public interest, should have given cogent reason to withhold her passport.
“The maximum fine for the offence is RM100,000 while bail was set at RM250,000,” he added.
Gurdial said any condition imposed must also be proportionate to the charge faced by an accused person in the interest of justice.
“My client needs the passport since she needs to be overseas as part of her vocation,” he said, adding that the sessions court judge was required to give reason for adding conditions to the bail.
He said Naimah had returned her passport to the court on four occasions after obtaining its temporary release and returning from her overseas trips.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin submitted that Naimah was offered bail with the additional conditions, and that her lawyers had not objected at the time.
“Impounding the passport has always been a ground to offer bail to an accused. In this case, the appellant was also a flight risk,” he added.
He said the prosecution had thought of asking for a RM500,000 bail, but that this was reduced by half after Naimah agreed to surrender her passport to the court.
Daim, 86, died on Nov 13 at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya.