Family says 'missing' lawyer at home, refutes report he's under arrest

KOTA KINABALU: The family of lawyer Michael Pursuis Ubu, whose legal firm has been linked to a controversial 2014 Risda land deal, has denied a report on a news portal that he has been arrested.

The lawyer’s children, through counsel Benjamin Chin, said their father was at his home and that the many claims made in the Sabahkini2 report two days ago were without basis and totally false.

Chin said that the claims in the report that Ubu was being kept at an unknown location by Sabah Health Department and Immigration Department director was also baseless.

“Ubu is at his home,” Chin told a press conference on Friday (June 5).

Chin also said Ubu’s legal firm had paid back the RM18mil to Risda over the land deal that did not go through.

“What surprises the family is why Sabahkini2 brought up the issue. The firm has paid RM18mil, as was agreed with Risda, which does face any losses with the interest paid.

“Ubu, as a stakeholder in the law firm, has carried out his responsibility with the payment," Chin said.

He urged the portal to clarify the report it published.

The Risda land deal was investigated by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) in 2017-18. MACC at the time sought out Ubu to assist in their investigations in the RM155mil land sale to Risda.

Ubu was apparently not in the country at the time.

The case involved the sale of two plots of land in Tongod to Risda in 2014. The deal fell through after a downpayment had been paid by Risda through Ubu’s legal firm.

MACC also remanded for three days a businessman, Datuk Peter Anthony, now a state minister in the Parti Warisan Sabah government. He was released.

Little is known about owners or writers of the portal which has always carried controversial reports.