Former Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik has been acquitted and discharged by the Kuala Lumpur High Court today of cheating the government over the multi-billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
The defence has raised reasonable doubts to the main charge and the two alternative charges, says justice Ahmadi Asnawi.
The defence has raised reasonable doubts to the main charge and the two alternative charges, says justice Ahmadi Asnawi.
In an immediate reaction, Ling said, "No comment", while placing his finger to his lips gesturing he was keeping quiet.
Ling, who is the first person with the honourific title of ‘Tun’ to be charged, is represented by lawyer Wong Kian Kheong while the prosecution team is led by DPP Manoj Kurup in place of deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah.
Ling, who is the first person with the honourific title of ‘Tun’ to be charged, is represented by lawyer Wong Kian Kheong while the prosecution team is led by DPP Manoj Kurup in place of deputy solicitor-general III Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah.
Manoj said the prosecution will study the grounds of judgment before deciding whether to appeal today's decision.
Justice Ahmadi, unlike when calling for Ling's defence where he spent two hours reading his decision in court, only took five minutes in discharging and acquitting Ling today.
He said he was not reading the full grounds but will make available copies of the judgment.
The 70-year-old former MCA president is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 percent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per square foot, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.
He also faced two alternative (amended) charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5 percent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.
This had resulted in the government having to pay an alleged extra RM720 million for the land purchase.
Ling who had served as transport minister over 17 years -from 1986 to 2003 - was alleged to have committed the offences at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.
Ling was ordered by the court to enter his defence on March 9, 2012 after justice Ahmadi found the prosecution had successfullyproven a prima facie case against the former transport minister.
The judge ruled then that Ling was well aware the government would have to pay more than the land's value of RM1.09 billion, as he was informed over this at an earlier meeting.
A total of 25 prosecution witnesses and seven defence witnesses including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several former cabinet ministers had testified in the trial.
Besides Ling, former MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy who replaced Ling in the cabinet also faces a similar charge with cheating the government over the project. However, his trial has yet commence.
[More to follow]
Justice Ahmadi, unlike when calling for Ling's defence where he spent two hours reading his decision in court, only took five minutes in discharging and acquitting Ling today.
He said he was not reading the full grounds but will make available copies of the judgment.
The 70-year-old former MCA president is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 percent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per square foot, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.
He also faced two alternative (amended) charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5 percent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.
This had resulted in the government having to pay an alleged extra RM720 million for the land purchase.
Ling who had served as transport minister over 17 years -from 1986 to 2003 - was alleged to have committed the offences at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.
Ling was ordered by the court to enter his defence on March 9, 2012 after justice Ahmadi found the prosecution had successfullyproven a prima facie case against the former transport minister.
The judge ruled then that Ling was well aware the government would have to pay more than the land's value of RM1.09 billion, as he was informed over this at an earlier meeting.
A total of 25 prosecution witnesses and seven defence witnesses including former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several former cabinet ministers had testified in the trial.
Besides Ling, former MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy who replaced Ling in the cabinet also faces a similar charge with cheating the government over the project. However, his trial has yet commence.
[More to follow]
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