KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness in Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel trial insisted that the former Penang chief minister received RM1mil in cash in 2017, maintaining his account in the Sessions Court despite acknowledging that the circumstances “did not make sense”.
Businessman G. Gnanaraja, who is the 37th prosecution witness in the ongoing corruption trial involving Lim, stood by his testimony under cross-examination that the cash was handed over to Lim on Aug 20, 2017, during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
During cross-examination by Lim’s counsel Ramkarpal Singh, Gnanaraja said he met Lim for the first time that day inside a car driven by Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli, managing director of Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) and a key prosecution witness in the trial.
CZBUCG - a consortium comprising Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) and several local companies - had secured the Penang undersea tunnel and paired roads project, with Zarul Ahmad representing BUCG in meetings with the Penang government at the time.
Gnanaraja told the court that he had earlier retrieved a black backpack containing RM1mil in cash from his study before meeting Zarul Ahmad.
He said Lim boarded the vehicle at the Wenworth Hotel, although he did not know where Lim had come from prior to that.
He noted that the bag was handed to Lim inside the car on Zarul Ahmad’s instruction while they were on the way to the Publika shopping mall.
He said Lim later alighted outside Publika, by the roadside, though he could not recall the exact spot.
Gnanaraja further claimed that after taking the bag, Lim tapped Zarul Ahmad on the shoulder before exiting the vehicle.
Ramkarpal then pointed out that Aug 20, 2017, was a Sunday, when the shopping mall area would typically be crowded.
He questioned whether it was logical that Lim, said to be in his official chief minister’s attire, would carry a bag containing RM1mil in cash in broad daylight at a busy public location without any security personnel.
Ramkarpal: I put it to you that the bag was never handed to Guan Eng as you alleged. It does not make sense for him, as the Penang chief minister at that time, to go to Publika on a busy Sunday wearing his official attire while holding a bag allegedly containing RM1mil. This is something that never happened, correct?
Gnanaraja: It may not make sense, but it did happen.
Ramkarpal further established that it was the first time Gnanaraja had met Lim.
“That was the first time you met Lim Guan Eng, correct?” asked the lawyer.
“Yes, I agree,” Gnanaraja said.
Gnanaraja also agreed that when Lim exited the vehicle, no officer or individual was seen meeting him.
“You do not know where he went?” Ramkarpal asked.
“I did not know,” the witness replied.
When pressed on the specific location of the meeting, Gnanaraja said he could not remember exactly where it took place, adding that Lim got off outside the shopping mall, along the roadside.
When asked, he said he had no further dealings or contact with Lim after that day.
Gnanaraja had earlier testified that he had received two black backpacks from Zarul Ahmad, each containing RM1mil in cash, which he kept in his study.
He said Zarul Ahmad had chosen him as an intermediary because he trusted him.
He further testified that Zarul Ahmad had issued him a letter of demand in 2018 seeking the return of RM19mil.
Gnanaraja denied cheating Zarul Ahmad of the amount, insisting that the RM19mil was a “friendly loan”.
Gnanaraja was charged in April 2019 at the Shah Alam Sessions Court with cheating Zarul Ahmad of RM19mil, including allegedly deceiving him into handing over RM2mil at a hotel in July and August 2017.
That case is separate from this trial, and it was later resolved after Gnanaraja pleaded guilty to an alternative offence under the Companies Act 2016 and was fined RM230,000, while the original cheating charge was classified as no further action.
Parts of the forensic report from that Shah Alam case, including WhatsApp message exchanges between Zarul Ahmad and Gnanaraja, have also been admitted for use in this trial to aid in assessing witness credibility and disputed accounts.
Lim, 65, faces an amended charge of using his position as Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes to help Zarul Ahmad secure 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 a 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, in March 2011.
Lim 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 resumes on March 3.
