Prosecution Appeals High-Profile Acquittal of Zizie Izette in RM2.8m Corruption Case

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — The prosecution has filed a notice of appeal against the Sessions Court’s decision to acquit and discharge actress Datin Seri Zizie Izette Abdul Samad on three charges of abetting her late husband in a RM2.8 million corruption case involving a RM150 million unit trust investment.

Zizie Izette’s defense counsel, Ridha Abdah Subri, confirmed that the prosecution submitted the appeal notice on July 31 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Registrar’s Office. Case management for the appeal has been fixed for tomorrow.

According to the court filing, the prosecution expressed dissatisfaction with the July 20 verdict delivered by Sessions Court Judge Rosli Ahmad, who acquitted the 47-year-old widow of former Kinabatangan Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin at the conclusion of the defense stage.

Zizie Izette was cleared of three amended charges framed under Section 28(1)(c) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. In addition to filing the notice of appeal, the prosecution has formally applied for copies of the notes of evidence and grounds of judgment pursuant to Section 307(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593).

The lower court’s decision followed the earlier acquittal of Bung Moktar on Jan 16, after the prosecution dropped all three underlying graft charges following his death on Dec 5, 2025.

In discharging Zizie Izette on July 20, Judge Rosli ruled that the defense had successfully raised reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case. In his legal reasoning, the judge noted that establishing an abetment charge requires proving the commission of a principal offence—namely, that Bung Moktar had corruptly accepted a bribe under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act. Consequently, Bung Moktar’s acquittal dismantled a core legal element required to substantiate the abetment charges against Zizie Izette.

Under the first charge, Zizie Izette was accused of abetting Bung Moktar, who was then non-executive chairman of Felcra Berhad, in receiving a cash bribe of RM2.2 million from Public Mutual Berhad investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid. The payment was allegedly an inducement to secure approval from the Second Finance Minister for Felcra Berhad to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual unit trust products.

Under the second count, she was accused of abetting her husband in obtaining RM262,500 from Madhi, deposited into a Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund account in her name, for the same purpose. The third count alleged that she abetted him in receiving RM337,500 from another Public Mutual agent, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, deposited into a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund account registered under her name.

All three alleged offenses took place at Public Bank Berhad’s Taman Melawati branch in Kuala Lumpur on June 12 and June 19, 2015.

Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act 2009 provides for a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of at least five times the bribe amount or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

–NMT