Justice K Muniandy said the disclosure under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) prior to the commencement of a trial would place the accused and prosecution on equal footing.
He said it would allow an accused person to arm himself with the necessary ammunition against the surfeit of material evidence the prosecution had in its arsenal to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“As the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the law now mandates disclosure at the earliest opportunity,” the judge said in a 60-page written judgment released yesterday.
Section 51A of the CPC, a general provision, was introduced in 2006.
On March 21 last year, Muniandy allowed a revision application by company director Sim Choo Thiam to compel the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to furnish a fresh written statement of facts favouring his defence.
Sim, 55, claimed trial in May 2023 to four charges of soliciting and accepting bribes of RM15 million to secure projects from a home ministry agency.
Muniandy said it was the legitimate expectation of an accused that he would be given documents and facts that favour his defence, as provided for in Section 51A.
He said the law, as it stands, does not allow for a trial by ambush.
“The court sits impartially to see that Section 51A is complied with by the prosecution. That is the role of the trial judge when managing a case against the accused,” he added.
Muniandy said the accused was entitled to a consistent operation of the law from the point of arrest and investigation up to trial.
“The respondent (prosecution) ought to also be consistent and comply with the demands of the law appropriately, as what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander,” he said.
The judge said in the present case, the prosecution should comply with Section 51A (1)(c) of the CPC when it had the exculpatory statements of the accused and not merely say “tiada yang diketahui” (not known).
He said delivery of the statement did not run contrary to public interest, as the request was about the charges preferred against the accused.
According to Sim, the fact in favour of the defence is that he was charged in court before the MACC investigators recorded a statement from former home minister Hamzah Zainudin, whose name was mentioned in the charges.
Sim also claimed that his cautioned statements, recorded by MACC on Feb 16 and 28, 2023, did not support the alleged corruption charges against him.
Muniandy gave MACC 14 days to comply with his order but the prosecution obtained a stay pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Sim was charged on May 10, 2023 with soliciting a RM15 million bribe from Hep Kim Hong, the managing director of Asia Coding Centre Sdn Bhd, through Syed Abu Zafran Syed Ahmad, as an inducement for Hamzah to award projects to the company.
He was also charged with three counts of accepting RM15 million in bribes from the same individual as an inducement for Hamzah to similarly award other projects.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Shaas Holdings office and a parking lot at Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1 here, between June and July 2021.
The charges were framed under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act which carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of at least five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Sim was represented by counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Low Wei Loke, and Kee Wei Lon, while deputy public prosecutors Nor Asma Ahmad, Rasyidah Murni Adzmi, and Asraf Tahir appeared for the prosecution.