KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusuff was acquitted and discharged by the Sessions Court here on two counts of failing to declare ownership of shares and his interests in two properties worth RM1,032,840.

Judge M Gunalan held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him on all three charges.

Ramli, 57, was charged with failing to declare the ownership of 20,000 Telekom Malaysia Berhad shares, 154,000 Permaju Industries Berhad shares and interests in two office properties.

He was alleged to have committed the offences at the office of the ACA's deputy public prosecutor in Putrajaya on Sept 17, 2007.

A total of 35 prosecution witnesses, including Ramli's younger sisters Roslina and Rohmah, testified in the trial.

Another witness, his friend Datuk Ling Keak Ming, had assisted the former senior police officer in acquiring the two shoplots in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng here.

Ramli, clad in grey suit with black songkok, immediately hugged his lawyers, friends and family members seated in the public gallery.

He told reporters that he had been vindicated of the false accusations which had resulted in him almost losing everything, including his rank, career and reputation.

"I have received neither pay nor pension since 2008 and I need to rebuild my life again," said Ramli, who opened a law firm recently.

"I'm sorry for my daughter, my sisters and father who had to go through this very painful time," added Ramli.

With today's decision, Ramli urged the Malaysian Anit-Corruption Commission (MACC) to drop the charge against his lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, who is facing a similar offence of failure to declare his assets.

MACC head of prosecution Datuk Abdul Razak Musa told reporters that the prosecution would appeal the decision.

Gunalan, in his judgment on the first charge, said the registered owner of the two office premises was Bonus Circle Sdn Bhd of which Ramli's two sisters were directors.

He said the sisters had full legal ownership of the properties and ruled out that Ramli had any legal interest in the properties even though he had participated in the management of the company.

On the second charge for failing to declare his 154,000 Pemaju Industries shares, Gunalan said Ramli had enclosed in his statement of accounts from AIBB (Alliance Investment Bank Berhad) when he declared his assets to MACC's deputy public prosecutor where the balance was RM5.57.

He said Ramli had used his account in carrying out his share transactions but he was not aware that he owned said shares.

During the trial, Ramli lodged a police report on Aug 17 last year and a complaint to the Securities Commission about his CDS (central depository system) being misused by someone else in share transactions after a remisier disclosed details of Ramli's CDS account.

Gunalan said that from the testimony of the remisier, inference could be made that a third party might have purchased shares using Ramli's trading account.

On the third charge involving the Telekom shares, Gunalan said there was no dispute that Ramli owned the shares.

He said Ramli owned the shares on Sept 19, 2007, even though he placed the order to purchase the shares on Sept 13 and that was why he did not declare his interest on the shares as required by a notice served on him by the MACC on Sept 17.

On July 28, 2009, Ramli was acquitted by the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court of a charge of abusing his public office through the unauthorised use of a police Cessna Caravan aircraft for pecuniary gain.

Ramli was alleged to have ordered the use of a Royal Malaysian Police aircraft to take him as well as two civilians on an aerial surveillance of two lots in Ulu Tungku, Lahad Datu, in which his real estate company, Kinsajaya Sdn Bhd, had a personal interest, on June 15, 2007.

The appeal will be heard at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on March 18.

Ramli was represented by counsel Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Datuk C Vijaya Kumar and Harvindirjit Singh. — Bernama