KUALA LUMPUR: A graft buster told the Sessions Court in the corruption trial of Lim Guan Eng that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) did not exert any pressure on a key prosecution witness to implicate the former Penang chief minister.
MACC investigating officer Ng Heng Jun, who was being cross-examined as the 36th prosecution witness, said the testimony of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) former director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, was not coerced by the commission.
Zarul Ahmad is the lead prosecution witness.
Ng said Zarul Ahmad mentioned Lim on Dec 9, 2019 in his statement for a cheating case involving fellow businessman G. Gnanaraja in Shah Alam.
Then, he said a complaint and subsequent investigation papers were opened against Lim for alleged abuse of power in January 2020.
Lim was charged in court later in August that year.
During cross-examination by Lim’s lawyer Tiara Katrina Fuad, Ng disagreed when presented with claims that the MACC applied “relentless pressure” on Zarul Ahmad to name Lim in connection with the Penang undersea tunnel project.
He also denied claims that the MACC’s eagerness to find a case against Lim resulted in undue pressure on Zarul Ahmad.
Ng also refuted suggestions that Zarul Ahmad’s statements for the Shah Alam case were a result of such pressure, maintaining that all information was provided voluntarily.
Further questioning by Tiara Katrina highlighted concerns about the timing and nature of the investigations into Lim in the Shah Alam case, suggesting that MACC had been actively seeking to build a case against him since 2018.
“I disagree,” said Ng, adding that the processes followed were standard.
Ng was in charge of a 2019 cheating case involving Zarul Ahmad and Gnanaraja in Shah Alam, where Zarul Ahmad sued Gnanaraja for cheating him of RM19mil as an inducement to help him drop money laundering charges.
However, Gnanaraja pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under the Companies Act and was fined RM230,000, while the cheating case has since been classified as “no further action ( A)”.
Previously, a 108-page statement by Zarul Ahmad to the MACC that was recorded for the Shah Alam case was allowed in this court to impeach Zarul Ahmad’s credibility for making conflicting statements involving Gnanaraja.
When asked, Ng agreed that he did not advise Zarul Ahmad to file a separate complaint against Lim in 2018.
He claimed that he received information from his superiors that an investigation was subsequently launched against Lim.
When cross-examined further by lead defence counsel Haijan Omar, Ng said there were no instructions to separate Zarul Ahmad’s testimony for the Shah Alam case from the allegations against Lim, even though it was not relevant to his investigation.
Haijan: Did you separate Zarul Ahmad’s testimony from Lim Guan Eng?
Ng: No.
Haijan: Do you agree there was an investigation into Lim Guan Eng?
Ng: There was, but only in general.
Haijan: There is a specific section about Lim Guan Eng, at least four pages.
Ng: Yes, sir.
Haijan: What was it about, the investigation into my client?
Ng: It was about the tunnel project.
Haijan: Is this your investigation?
Ng: No, not mine.
Ng’s testimony also revealed that Gnanaraja faced no charges related to the undersea tunnel section in the statement, raising questions about the relevance of his alleged role as an intermediary between Zarul Ahmad and Lim.
To a question, Ng also agreed that there was no statement from Zarul Ahmad indicating that money was directly handed to Lim or that Gnanaraja acted as an intermediary between Zarul Ahmad and Lim.
Haijan: So, the transfer of money from Zarul Ahmad to Gnanaraja was based solely on Zarul Ahmad’s testimony. Agree?
Ng: Yes.
Lim, 64, is facing an amended charge of using his position as then Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes as an inducement to assist Zarul Ahmad in securing the undersea tunnel project worth RM6.34bil.
Lim allegedly committed the offence at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, George Town, between January 2011 and August 2017.
In the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a 10% profit from the company as gratification to secure the project.
The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here, in March 2011.
Lim, who is Bagan MP, faces two further charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8mil, belonging to the Penang government, to be disposed of to two companies linked to the project.
The trial before judge Azura Alwi is set to continue from July 10 to 11.
