Phee's lawyers to fight remand order in Kedah court

ALOR SETAR: Lawyers for Penang exco member Phee Boon Poh (pic) have arrived at the High Court here to file submissions against his remand order over an investigation into an illegal factory in Bukit Mertajam.

Phee, the factory's 70-year-old manager Gan Buck Hee and his 37-year-old director son Edmund Gan Eu Leong, were arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Saturday.

They were remanded for five days to allow investigations under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 for abuse of power for gratification.

The father and son pair were represented by Dev Kumaraendran, while Phee was represented by R.S.N Rayer and Ramkarpal Singh.

Dev said the magistrate in Penang did not hear their submissions before setting the five-day remand order.

"Since the Penang High Court is not open on Sunday, we are here in Kedah to file our submissions," he said to reporters.

Rayer said they hoped to have Phee released soon.

Phee, who is Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman, was detained after he went to the MACC office to have his statement recorded.

Phee's office on the 53rd floor of Komtar was also raided by MACC officers.

On Thursday, MACC officers seized documents related to the Kampung Sungai Lembu factory from the Seberang Prai Municipal Council.

The MACC and several enforcement agencies also raided the factory Thursday, following complaints from villagers who feared fumes from the factory could affect their health.

The carbon filter-processing factory has been operating on agricultural land inside an oil palm estate for more than 10 years.

The operations over the illegal factory also involved officers from the Immigration Department, Department of Environment, and Inland Revenue Board.