Anthony jailed and fined

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Sabah infrastructure development minister Datuk Peter Anthony need not serve the jail term handed down by a Sessions Court pending his appeal to the High Court.

Anthony was sentenced to three years in jail and fined RM50,000 after he was found guilty of falsifying documents relating to a system maintenance contract that his company was awarded.

The jail time, which was ordered to run from Thursday, was stayed after Anthony’s lawyer S. Devanandan applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the High Court.

Sessions judge Azura Alwi nevertheless ordered for the fine to be paid on the day itself.

Earlier, in her ruling, the judge said that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt while Anthony’s defence was merely a denial, inconsistent and an afterthought.

“There is circumstantial evidence and testimonies that show you were the only one who had the opportunity to falsify the document,” she said.

She said the accused’s company Syarikat Asli Jati Sdn Bhd were to gain from the act of forgery as the letter used reflected that they had the support from Universiti Malaysia Sabah for the contract.

“This resulted in the Ministry of Finance awarding them the contract through direct negotiations for five years,” Azura said.

Keeping calm: Anthony (middle) arriving at the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama

There was also sufficient testimony that the accused had duped the third, eighth and ninth witnesses by deceiving them about a “smart partnership” between the university and Asli Jati, the judge added.

Prior to sentencing, Anthony’s lawyer asked for a lenient sentence on grounds that his client was a prominent politician and contributed a lot to the people of Sabah.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Haresh Prakash Somiah said although the company won the tender fairly, what the accused had done was “to try and hijack the process”.

“We have to consider the careers of the university’s high-ranking officers who were affected (by the case),” he said.

DPPs Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and Francine Cheryl Rajendram also appeared for the prosecution.

According to the charge, Anthony as the managing director of Asli Jati had forged a letter from the office of the UMS deputy vice-chancellor dated June 9, 2014, by inserting a false statement with the intention of using it for fraudulent purposes.

The former vice-president of Parti Warisan was accused of committing the offence at the office of the principal private secretary to the prime minister at the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya between June 13 and Aug 21, 2014.

At the prosecution stage, a total of 15 witnesses including former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi who was appointed chairman of the UMS board of directors from April 3, 2013 to July 31, 2018, were called to testify at the trial which began on April 5 last year.