The Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed former Federal Territories Minister  Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to obtain his passport temporarily to travel to Melbourne, Australia, for medical treatment at the end of this month.

Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan allowed Tengku Adnan’s application to have his passport returned after hearing submissions from his counsel Tan Hock Chuan and deputy public prosecutor Julia Ibrahim.

The court ordered the passport to be released to Tengku Adnan, 68, on Dec 23 and to be returned to the court on or before Jan 2.

Judge Mohamed Zaini said the court had considered the fact that Tengku Adnan had made two similar applications before and he had returned to the country.

“The court also considered the case of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman in the Court of Appeal which allowed the application for his passport to be temporarily returned for the purpose of seeking medical treatment abroad.

“For this reason, the court allowed the order as requested,” the judge said.

On Oct 14, the court ordered Tengku Adnan to enter his defence on the charge of accepting a bribe of RM2 million from a businessman, three years ago.

The court set Jan 17, 20, and 21 for the defence to present its case.

According to the charge sheet, Tengku Adnan as a public servant, namely, Federal Territories minister, had accepted RM2 million from Chai Kin Kong via a Hong Leong Islamic Bank cheque belonging to Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd.

The cheque was later deposited into a CIMB account of Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd in which he had an interest when it was known that Aset Kayamas had connections with his official duties.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at a CIMB branch in Damansara on June 14, 2016.

The charge, framed under Section 165 of the Penal Code, provides a jail term of up to two years or fine, or both, if convicted. — Bernama