A Malaysian court on Friday deferred charges against former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who could not attend his hearing in a multimillion-dollar corruption investigation after being admitted to hospital for a heart condition.
Ismail Sabri, 66, has faced corruption accusations following the arrests of a senior aide and several others last February over alleged abuse of power and money laundering.
Police also seized about 170 million ringgit (US$41.5 million) in cash held under different denominations and 16kg (35lbs) of gold ingots estimated to be worth 7 million ringgit, all kept at an office that investigators believed Ismail Sabri’s aide used as a safe house.
Amer Hamzah Arshad, the former leader’s lawyer, said his client was unable to take part in Friday’s hearing at a Kuala Lumpur sessions court. He was taken to hospital the previous day after suffering from “some sort of health problem” while being questioned by anti-corruption officers.
“This morning when we contacted the client and his family, we were made to understand that he will undergo a pacemaker procedure this afternoon,” Amer told reporters.
He said Ismail Sabri was also briefly admitted for treatment two weeks earlier after suffering a fall.