Cecil Abraham cleared by lawyers disciplinary board

The Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board has cleared senior lawyer Cecil Abraham of any wrongdoing with regard to his alleged involvement in the drafting of the second statutory declaration (SD) of P Balasubramaniam eight years ago.

It is understood that the decision was delivered two weeks, ago with the disciplinary committee conducting the inquiry and the board clearing Cecil.

This was confirmed by lawyer Gene Anand Vendargon to Malaysiakini. Gene, along with Bastian Vendargon, conducted the proceeding for the Bar Council.

On Feb 22, it was reported that the committee chaired by lawyer KY Foo had yet to submit its findings to the board despite the proceedings having ended in December 2014.

A total of 15 witnesses testified in the disciplinary hearing.

Deepak did not testify

Controversial carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan did not testify by avoiding from being served with a subpoena, a source had told Malaysiakini on Feb 22.

Deepak, in interviews with PAS mouthpiece Harakah, as well as with Malaysiakini, admitted to his role in getting Balasubramaniam's first SD overturned, saying that he regretted it.

The complainant in the matter was the Malaysian Bar.

Then Bar president Christopher Leong (photo) had lodged a formal complaintafter 14 lawyers, led by Wan Hidayati Nadirah Wan Ahmad Nasir, submitted a motion at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Malaysian Bar in March 2013, calling for an independent committee to be set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding Balasubramaniam’s second SD.

However, lawyer Americk Sidhu, who helped draft the first SD for the late private investigator, had, during that AGM, revealed that Cecil had admitted to him that he had been instructed by then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to draft the second SD.

In the first SD made in July 2008, Balasubramaniam alleged that Najib knew Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006. The private investigator retracted this claim in his second SD, after which he and his family went on exile.

Following that, Balasubramaniam's widow A Santamil Selvi and his three children had filed a suit against Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor and brothers Nazim and Johari; Cecil; Deepak; and three others, for conspiracy leading to the family being forced into exile in India for nearly five years. -Mkini