LGE’s lawyer down with fever, court postpones trial to Sept 19

 

Businessman Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli is the 36th prosecution witness to testify at the ongoing corruption trial of former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The hearing for Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel corruption trial in the sessions court could not proceed today as his lawyer was said to be unwell.

Co-counsel RSN Rayer informed judge Azura Alwi that lead counsel Haijan Omar was down with fever today.

He added that Haijan was slated to cross-examine the prosecution’s star witness, businessman Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli.

I apologise for his absence,

 Rayer said.

Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said he hopes for Haijan to have a speedy recovery.

We are ready to proceed with the trial but we leave it to the court’s discretion,

 he added.

Azura then fixed the trial to resume on Sept 19 and 20.

Last week, Zarul testified that Lim’s 

friend

, the late Ewe Swee Kheng, had told Zarul that his company would be granted a plot of land as part payment for conducting the required feasibility studies on the project.

Lim is standing trial on charges of using his position to ask Zarul for a 10% cut of the profits from the undersea tunnel project and also accepting RM3.3 million from the businessman.

He is also accused of two counts of dishonestly misappropriating RM208.7 million worth of state land to two companies.

Zarul is the 36th witness to testify. Others include former minister Nazri Aziz and current Penang exco Zairil Khir Johari. - FMT