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Monday, June 16, 2025

Guan Eng graft case further delayed pending appeal

 The High Court fixes case mention on Sept 19 pending disposal of an appeal by Lim Guan Eng and two others in the Court of Appeal.

lim-guan-eng-betty-chew-Phang Lee Khoon
Lim Guan Eng, his wife Betty Chew (centre) and businesswoman Phang Li Koon are charged with offences allegedly committed in connection with the award of a RM11.6 million project to construct dormitories for foreign workers.
GEORGE TOWN:
 The High Court here has fixed the corruption trial involving former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, his wife Betty Chew, and businesswoman Phang Li Koon for further case management on Sept 19 pending the disposal of their appeal.

The new date was set this morning by deputy registrar Arif Shariff.

Defence lawyers RSN Rayer and A Rueban Kumar said the new date was set to enable parties to advise the court of the status of the appeal.

The three accused are appealing an earlier ruling by the High Court which dismissed their application to have the charges struck out.

The Court of Appeal is expected to fix the appeal for hearing soon, having received the High Court’s grounds of judgment on June 12.

Lim, Chew and Phang applied to have the charges struck out on grounds that they were victims of “double jeopardy”.

They claimed that much of the documentary evidence involved in the present case overlaps with documents used in a previous case which Lim and Phang secured an acquittal from in 2016.

On May 31, the High Court dismissed their application.

Justice Rofiah Mohamad ruled that the claim of double jeopardy had no basis, as the 2016 acquittal did not involve the handing down of a judicial decision.

“There’s a major difference in the alleged offence that took place, and it involved different persons. The case must go on,” she said then.

The trio were charged on Aug 11, 2020 over the award of a RM11.6 million project to construct dormitories for foreign workers to a company linked to Phang.

Lim was charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 with abuse of power as then chief minister and as the Penang Development Corporation’s tender board chairman.

He was alleged to have given gratification worth RM372,009 to Chew, through Excel Property Management & Consultancy Sdn Bhd, by ensuring that Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd was offered the project to construct the dormitories in Juru and Batu Kawan.

Phang was charged with abetting Lim under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act.

The offences were alleged to have taken place between Aug 19, 2013 and March 3, 2016.

Chew was charged with three counts of laundering RM372,009 through a Public Bank account registered at the Taman Melaka Raya branch between Oct 7, 2013 and March 3, 2016.

They pleaded not guilty after the case was moved from the Butterworth sessions court.

In the earlier case, Lim was charged under Section 23 of the MACC Act with using his public office or position as Penang chief minister to obtain gratification for himself and Chew, by approving an application by Magnificent Emblem to convert agricultural land for residential purposes during a state exco meeting on July 18, 2014.

He was also charged under Section 165 of the Penal Code for allegedly using his position to obtain gratification by purchasing a bungalow from Phang at RM2.8 million, which was below the property’s market value of RM4.7 million at that time.

Phang was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting Lim on July 28, 2015 after the latter bought her bungalow at Pinhorn Road.

Lim and Phang were both acquitted by the High Court on Sept 3, 2018 after the prosecution decided not to proceed with the case. - FMT

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