FORMER Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim who succeeded in getting his Court of Appeal hearing over graft and money laundering offences postponed on Friday (Aug 26) in view of a bout of acute gastroenteritis has apparently made a speedy recovery.
This is because barely 24 hours later, there was pictorial evidence of him showing up at the UMNO Supreme Council’s Working Committee meeting which took place on Saturday night at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre.
The meeting chaired by party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was also attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Apparently, the picture which was part of a four-picture tweet by UMNO’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan had sent tongues wagging with user Joe Kidin seeking confirmation if indeed it was Azeez at all in the picture.
User Safiq Saharudin was impressed over the Baling MP’s speedy recovery. “So fast @azeezrahim gets well, Mat (referring to Ahmad Maslan)? Hopefully he doesn’t feel unwell again come September when he has to go to court. UMNO leaders mustn’t belittle the rule of law.”
Poking fun at Azeez, user bruku reckoned that the former imitated Korean dramas. “He fell ill the moment he was charged (in court) but in fact was savouring chicken chop in the ward. Truly an international thief tactic.”
Recall that Azzez was reported to be admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMCC) for gastric ailment following a stomach pain since around 2am on Friday (just hours prior to his appeal hearing), prompting the appellate court to postpone his appeal to strike out 13 corruption and money laundering charges to Sept 5.
Short of making a mockery of the Malaysian judiciary system, Azeez’s lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad nevertheless justified that apart from the poor health condition of his client, the postponement of his client’s appeal hearing was also due to the unavailability of Deputy Public Prosecutors Nik Haslinie Hashim who was down with COVID-19 while Aslinda Ahad was in Melaka to receive an award in conjunction with the governor’s 73rd birthday.
But even then, wouldn’t that be a contempt of court given that the Baling MP had misled the court into believing that he was inflicted with an ailment which would most likely require the person to rest/recover at home?
According to Western Sydney University’s lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist Vincent Ho, acute infectious gastroenteritis usually resolves within two weeks but severe cases can last several weeks.
Although infectious gastroenteritis usually resolves on its own, it can lead to severe consequences in some cases, chiefly through dehydration. Worldwide, 1.45 million people die from infectious gastroenteritis each year. – Aug 29, 2022
