Sessions court grants stay of execution of the sentence pending Ag Tahir Ag Talib's appeal to the High Court.
PETALING JAYA: Former Sabah water department director Ag Tahir Ag Talib has been sentenced to eight years in jail and a fine of RM284.3 million after being convicted of 12 counts of money laundering involving over RM45 million.
Kota Kinabalu sessions court judge Abu Bakar Manat sentenced Tahir to eight years’ imprisonment on each charge but ordered the sentences to run concurrently from today, Bernama reported. The 63-year-old will be jailed a further 78 months if he fails to pay the fine, specifically 12 more months in prison for the first charge and six months each for the other 11 counts.
The judge, however, granted the defence’s application for a stay of execution of the sentence pending Tahir’s appeal to the High Court. Deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat had urged the court to impose a heavy sentence as the funds laundered were meant to provide water supply to Sabahans.
“The accused’s money laundering was carried out systematically, making it difficult to detect. This embezzled money belongs to the people and should have been used to provide water supply, which is a basic necessity,” he said. Pointing to Sabah’s recurring water woes, he said these issues could have been resolved or at least reduced if the funds had not been embezzled by Tahir.
Tahir’s lawyer, Ansari Abdullah, had appealed for a lower sentence on grounds that his client had endured “substantial hardship” over the past few years, including being remanded for six months before posting a RM500,000 bail. Ansari said Tahir suffered from health issues such as osteoarthritis, limiting his mobility, while the conviction would cause him to lose his pension and other gratuities. Earlier today, the court ruled that the prosecution had proven its case against Tahir beyond reasonable doubt.
However, it acquitted Tahir’s wife, Fauziah Piut, 61, and former Sabah water department deputy director Lim Lam Beng, 72, of the same charges. The court also acquitted Tahir and Fauziah of two joint money laundering charges. Tahir, Fauziah, and Lim were jointly charged in 2019 with 37 counts of money laundering involving RM61.57 million and the unlawful possession of luxury items.
Tahir faced 12 charges and Fauziah 19 under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. They were also jointly charged on two counts. The offences were said to have been committed by Tahir and his wife in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur between Oct 4 and Nov 4, 2016. Lim, who faced four charges, was alleged to have been in possession of cash amounting to RM2.38 million between Oct 13 and Nov 8, 2016.
Court Fine Jail Money Laundering Sabah Sabah Water Department
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