Several Penang exco members among witnesses to testify in Guan Eng graft trial, says DPP

KUALA LUMPUR: Several Penang exco members will be called to testify in the corruption case of former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng who is facing graft charges involving the Penang undersea tunnel project.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin told the press that some 125 prosecution witnesses would potentially be called to testify for the prosecution and added this would include exco members.

“The prosecution has also handed over all the documents relating to the case to the defence.

“Some of the documents that were handed over include a telephone forensics report, a financial analysis report from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and expert reports on the projects involved, ” he said when met after a case management before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi here on Monday (March 29).

He also told the court that the prosecution had handed over the list of potential witnesses to the defence and a copy to the court.

Lim, who is represented by lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, was exempted from attending today’s proceeding.

Previously, the court fixed June 8 - 11, July 12 - 16, July 28 and 29, Aug 16 and 20, Sept 6 - 10, Sept 20 - 24 and Dec 13 - 17 for hearing.

According to the first amended charge, Lim allegedly used his position as a public servant to receive RM3.3mil as an inducement to help the company of Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to secure the undersea tunnel project valued at RM6.3bil.

Lim is alleged to have received the bribe in his capacity as the chief minister of Penang then, at the Chief Minister’s office in the Komtar building in George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.

The second amended charge is for soliciting gratification from Zarul Ahmad to help the company secure the project.

The alleged bribe was in the form of 10% of the profit that would be made by the company.

He allegedly committed the offence near The Gardens Hotel at Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, here, between 12.30am and 2am in March 2011.

Lim is also facing two counts of misappropriation of property for causing two plots of land belonging to the Penang government worth RM208.8mil to be disposed of by two companies linked to the undersea tunnel project.

He is alleged to have committed the offence at the Penang Land and Mines Office in Komtar on Feb 17,2015 and March 22,2017.