KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness in the Lim Guan Eng graft trial insisted that the latter received RM1mil in cash in 2017, although acknowledging that the circumstances “did not make sense”, the Sessions Court heard.
Businessman G. Gnanaraja, testifying in the ongoing hearing linked with the Penang undersea tunnel project, maintained that the cash was handed over to Lim on Aug 20, 2017, during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Cross-examined 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) who is another 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 back then.
Gnanaraja, the 37th prosecution witness, said he retrieved a black backpack containing RM1mil in cash from his study before meeting Zarul Ahmad.
He said Lim boarded the vehicle at Wenworth Hotel and he handed the bag to Lim inside the car on Zarul Ahmad’s instruction while they were on the way to Publika.
Gnanaraja testified that after taking the bag, Lim tapped Zarul Ahmad on the shoulder before exiting the vehicle by the roadside there.
Ramkarpal pointed out that Aug 20, 2017 being a Sunday, the shopping mall area would have been crowded.
He asked if it was logical that Lim, who was 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 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 asked if that was the first time Gnanaraja had met Lim. “Yes, I agree,” Gnanaraja said.
Gnanaraja also agreed that when Lim exited the vehicle, no officer or other individual was seen meeting him.
Gnanaraja previously testified that he 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, but said Zarul Ahmad issued him with a letter of demand in 2018 seeking the return of RM19mil which he said 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 was later resolved after Gnanaraja pleaded guilty to an alternative offence under the Companies Act 2016 and fined RM230,000, while the original cheating charge was classified as no further action.
Parts of the forensic report from the Shah Alam case, including WhatsApp message exchanges between Zarul Ahmad and Gnanaraja, have 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 with the project.
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi resumes on Tuesday.
