Court: Guan Eng, businesswoman must give defence statements before graft trial

PUTRAJAYA: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will be required to give his defence statement to the prosecution before his corruption trial begins, the Federal Court ruled.

A-five-man bench chaired by Chief Justice Raus Sharif, however, said Lim and businesswoman Phang Li Koon, who is charged with abetment, would not be stopped from offering additional documents after the trial starts.

“Section 62 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act (MAAC) does not preclude the defence from tendering additional documents during trial,” he said.

Raus said the provision related to pre-trial procedures of delivering documents by the defence and not on the admissibility of evidence.

The top judge, who sat with justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Ahmad Maarop, Ramly Ali and Azahar Mohamed , however, said Lim and Phang did not need to file their defence 14 days before trial, as directed by the High Court earlier.

The court, in allowing the appeal by the MACC, said the bench disagreed with the Court of Appeal that Section 62 of the MACC Act, which required accused persons to reveal their defence before trial began, was unconstitutional.

Raus said Section 62, read together with Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, did not violate Articles 5 (1) and 8 (1) of the Federal Constitution.

Article 5 is about life and personal liberty while Article 8 (1) is about equal protection of the law.

The bench fixed Jan 10 for management of the Lim and Phang case before a High Court judge.

On June 30 last year, Lim was charged with using his public office to obtain gratification for himself and his wife, Betty Chew, by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd to convert agricultural land for residential purposes.

Lim was also alleged to have used his position to obtain gratification by purchasing a bungalow from Phang for RM2.8 million, below the property’s market value of RM4.7 million on July 28, 2015.

Before the trial began, the prosecution requested Lim and Phang to file their defence but they challenged the legality of Section 62.

In March, Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail dismissed a motion filed by Lim and Phang to declare Section 62 as unconstitutional but this was reversed by the Court of Appeal in August.

Gobind Singh Deo appeared for Lim, counsels V Sithambaram and Hisyam Teh Poh Teik represented Phang while Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud appeared for the MACC. -FMT