Former Malaysia minister convicted on corruption charges faces 7 years in prison and whipping News
Smuconlaw., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Former Malaysia minister convicted on corruption charges faces 7 years in prison and whipping

An Indonesian court sentenced former Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to seven years in prison and two lashes of the whip after being found guilty of abetting in criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds and money laundering, according to a Thursday article from state news agency Bernama.

The charges stemmed from accusations that Syed Saddiq abetted a subordinate withdraw 1 million ringgit (213,538 USD) from the account of the Bersatu party during his tenure as youth chief, spanning 2016 to 2020. In addition to the charges related to the Bersatu party funds, Syed Saddiq also faced charges for alleged money laundering involving 100,000 ringgit (21,380 USD) from his personal bank account into his unit trust account.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court declared Syed Saddiq guilty on all charges, stating that he failed to raise reasonable doubt over the allegations.

Following the verdict, Syed Saddiq announced his decision to resign as president of the youth-centric Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda). Syed Saddiq founded Muda after being ousted from Bersatu in May 2020 during a political crisis. Muda aims at mobilizing young Malaysian voters following the lowering of the voting age to 18, and has struggled to make significant electoral gains in a political landscape dominated by established parties.

As a part of his sentence, Syed Saddiq will face two lashes of the whip in addition to his prison sentence. Malaysia’s use of whipping sentences as a form of corporal punishment has raised concerns about human rights violations. In Malaysia, whipping is a sentence for over 50 criminal offenses, and often it is mandatory. The practice has been criticized as “cruel, inhumane, and degrading” by human rights organizations.

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