Court restores ex-Perak immigration prosecution chief’s conviction

Zaidi Dali, the former chief prosecutor of Perak's immigration department, began serving a three-year prison sentence on the day the Court of Appeal reinstated his conviction on bribery charges. The decision was made by Justice Noorin Badaruddin, who led a three-member panel comprising Justices Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid and Radzi Harun.

In her ruling, Justice Noorin emphasized that the prosecution's evidence should be evaluated as a whole, considering the sequence of events surrounding a meeting on November 5, 2020, rather than examining individual pieces of evidence in isolation. She clarified that Zaidi's alleged involvement in soliciting RM10,000 monthly to protect an entertainment center from immigration inspections was not solely dependent on whether he personally uttered the alleged words attributed to another participant.

The court also determined that audio and video recordings presented by the prosecution were admissible, as they were not classified as intercepted communications necessitating a certificate under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009. Furthermore, it concluded that the evidence surrounding the RM7,000 bribe remained consistent despite the lack of eyewitnesses to every transaction.

In 2022, Zaidi and then-Perak immigration director Zulhairin Yahya received three-year jail sentences and RM85,000 fines each from the sessions court. However, the High Court in Ipoh acquitted both men the following year. The prosecution initially appealed the decision but later withdrew their appeal after Zulhairin's death earlier this year. Zaidi and Zulhairin were charged with conspiring to protect an entertainment center in Manjung from enforcement raids in exchange for the monthly payments of RM10,000.

Zaidi's legal team was represented by M Athimulan and R Vikramanan, while deputy public prosecutors Farah Ezlin Yusop Khan, Maziyah Mansor, and Qistini Qamarul Abrar argued on behalf of the prosecution.