Nazri Aziz to testify in Guan Eng's graft trial in November

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno MP Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz will testify in the graft trial of Lim Guan Eng in November, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court heard on Friday (Sept 24).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin told judge Azura Alwi that the Padang Rengas MP was scheduled to testify on Nov 5, a day after Deepavali.

Defence lawyer Gobind Singh Deo had requested for the date to be vacated, since it fell a day after Deepavali.

However, Wan Shaharuddin said the prosecution wants the date to be maintained as it had prepared a witness who would sometimes be overseas, before mentioning Nazri's name.

Guan Eng, 60, is facing four corruption charges involving the construction of an undersea tunnel and paired roads project in Penang.

For the first amended charge, the Bagan MP is charged with using his position as then Penang chief minister to corruptly receive RM3.3mil to help Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli’s company to secure the project in Penang worth RM6,341,383,702.

The offence was allegedly committed between January 2011 and August 2017 at the Penang Chief Minister's office.

For the second amended charge, Guan Eng is charged with soliciting 10% of profits from Zarul Ahmad to help the company be appointed for the same project.

Guan Eng was charged with committing the offence near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here in March 2011, between 12.30am and 2am.

The former finance minister was also charged with two counts of causing two lots of land owned by the Penang state government worth RM208.8mil to be disposed of by the developer linked to the undersea tunnel project.

The offences were allegedly committed at the Penang Land and Mines Office, Komtar on Feb 17, 2015 and March 22, 2017.