KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been ordered to enter his defence on charges of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of assets and money laundering.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said the prosecution had proven their case beyond doubt.

"After careful consideration I found the prosecution has proven there is a prima facie case and I call the accused to enter his defence," he said today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

"There are three ways he can enter his defence. First is by sworn testimony where you will be liable for cross examination, the second way is by giving an unsworn statement which means he will not be liable for cross examination and the third way is you may choose to be silent. You may confirm with your counsel," Judge Azhar said in delivering his verdict today.

Syed Saddiq's lawyer, Gobind Singh Deo said his client would enter his sworn statement and that he would be calling at least 15 witnesses during the trial.

Judge Azhar then said they would have to start the trial in 2023 due to the upcoming elections. After deliberation they set aside February 22-24, March 13 and 14 and April 10-14, 2023 for trial.

According to the first charge, Syed Saddiq, 30, is charged as the then Bersatu Youth wing or Armada chief — who was entrusted with control of Armada funds — of abetting Rafiq Hakim Razali, Armada’s assistant treasurer at the time, with CBT of RM1 million in funds belonging to the wing.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at CIMB Bank Berhad, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2, here on March 6, 2020, and is charged under Section 406 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment for up to 10 years with whipping, and is liable to a fine, if found guilty.

For the second charge, the accused is charged with misusing property for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Berhad account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise, by causing Rafiq to dispose of the money.

Syed Saddiq is accused of having committed the offence at Malayan Banking Berhad, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya here, between April 8 and 21, 2018, and charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which carries a minimum jail term of six months and a maximum of five years with whipping, and is punishable by a fine, if convicted.

He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities, namely two transactions of RM50,000, believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Berhad account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.

Syed Saddiq is accused of committing the offence at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Baru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

A total of 29 out of 37 witnesses testified in court against the former youth and sports minister. The trial spanned 21 days, concluding on September 28, 2022.