KOTA KINABALU, Oct 20 ― Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal was remanded today for four days in connection with an investigation into the RM1.5 billion embezzling case.

The Semporna MP, who turns 60 today, was issued the remand by magistrate Cindy McJuce Balitus today on application from the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission.

“He will continue to be warded at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I,” said counsel Martin Tommy.

Shafie, who has been under observation for high blood pressure, arrived at the courthouse in an ambulance from the Queen Elizabeth I Hospital at about 2.30pm.

He was greeted by a crowd of about 300 supporters clad in orange-shirts to symbolise the MACC’s orange lockup shirt gathered outside the courthouse.

They stood outside the gates and sang “Sabah Tanahairku” and “Happy Birthday” and chanted phrases like “Sabah Ubah”, “Tangkap Musa”, “Tangkap MO1” and “DSSA”.

He stepped out of the ambulance at about 3.20pm when entering the MACC office and was seen without handcuffs.

He spent about two hours in chambers before being ushered out and back into the waiting

Shafie was represented by counsels Martin Tommy, Hamid Ismail and Loretto Padua Jr while MACC was led by prosecuting officer Mohd Faliq Basiruddin.

Meanwhile, a Warisan member ― Putatan division secretary Amarjit Singh was issued a six day remand by Balitus.

He was represented by counsel Norazmi Alimat.

Shafie has been under medical observation for high blood pressure since about 10pm last night, an hour after he was arrested by graft investigators.

Shafie had arrived at the MACC office at the state federal administrative complex here at 5.20pm to give his statement after arriving from Kuala Lumpur at 3.45pm. He had stopped over at his house in Taman Golf View briefly before proceeding to the MACC.

Shafie, a former Umno vice president, has been speculated to be a key figure in investigations into embezzlement from RM1.5 billion worth of projects under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry from 2009 to 2015, when he was its minister.

He was sacked from the Cabinet and suspended from the party in 2015 after questioning the prime minister’s handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and later started his own party in his home state.

His younger brothers Lahad Datu assemblyman from Umno Datuk Yusof Apdal, 57 and Hamid Apdal, 52 as well as party leaders have already been hauled up and are under MACC bail.

The investigations was said to be focused on some 70 infrastructure projects in rural Sabah.

MACC has so far arrested ten others to facilitate their investigations.

The other eight who have been arrested are Warisan vice-president Datuk Peter Anthony, a Sabah-based construction company owner, a former deputy secretary from the ministry, Warisan Youth chief Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman, Tenom Umno Youth chief Jamawi Jaafar, and Tawau Umno Youth chief Ariffin Kassim, Hamid’s 37-year-old son-in-law Manzur Hussein Awal Khan and Amarjit.

All but Yusof and Amarjit have been released on bail. The former’s remand ends tomorrow.