Ex-spy chief charged with RM50m CBT

> Hasanah allegedly committed the offence in her capacity as a civil servant

KUALA LUMPUR: Former chief of the nowdefunct Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid (pix) was charged yesterday with criminal breach of trust (CBT) amounting to US$12.1 million (RM50.3 million).

The charges were read before sessions court judge Azman Ahmad.

She was charged with committing CBT of the aforementioned amount which belonged to the government in her capacity as a civil servant in the Prime Minister’s Office between April 30 and May 9 this year.

She is being charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code for CBT by a public servant read together with Section 34 of the same code.

She can be punished with a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than 20 years, with whipping and be liable to a fine.

She was represented by lawyer Datuk Shaharuddin Ali.

Lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram asked for bail to be set at RM1 million.

Shaharuddin, however, asked for the sum to be set at RM300,000.

Azman set bail at RM500,000 in two sureties and ordered her to surrender her passports to the court.

Shaharuddin, in a media conference later, said money for the intelligence agency and its finances is considered a state secret and should not be heard in open court because it involved national security.

“In my opinion, the use of money for such purposes should be a national secret. It is not something that should be revealed in open court. Operations by the spy agency cannot be meddled with.”

The lawyer also emphasised that Hasanah’s charge is unrelated to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, which saw six more CBT charges levelled against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in a separate court.

“I would like to clear the air that Hasanah is not involved in investigations into 1MDB or any of its subsidiaries.”

Azman set Nov 29 for case mention.