The Court of Appeal today reserved judgment on an appeal for the High Court to hear former finance minister Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial linked to the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project.
The three-person bench, chaired by judge Nor Bee Ariffin, said that they need time to decide on the appeal by former Penang chief minister Lim.
“We need time to make a decision, so the verdict is reserved. Taking into account that the trial (before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court) will proceed next week (Monday), our decision will be after that,” Nor Bee said.
The bench, which also comprised judges Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Hashim Hamzah, has yet to set a date to deliver their verdict, after having heard submissions from parties today.
Submissions were made by Lim's counsel Gobind Singh Deo as well as deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
Lim is appealing against the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on July 12, which dismissed his application to transfer his corruption case from the Sessions Court to the High Court.
The Bagan MP sought to get the case transferred to the High Court so that in the event there is an appeal, it could reach the Federal Court, where the apex court would be the most suitable avenue to decide on certain legal issues tied to the case.
Under the criminal justice system, a criminal case tried at the Sessions Court can only be appealed up to the Court of Appeal while an appeal for a criminal case heard by the High Court can be appealed to the Federal Court.
Lim claimed that the High Court is the suitable venue for the graft case as it involves several legal issues, that in the event of an appeal, the matter would be suitable to be heard by the Federal Court.
Among them is the issue of whether an accused needed to disclose his statement of defence to the prosecution before the commencement of a trial, and whether a prosecution witness’ statement can be shared with the defence prior to trial.
The issue of the witness statement is in relation to prosecution witness Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, who is a senior executive director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd, the main contractor for the undersea tunnel project.
The prosecution, led by Wan Shaharuddin, contended that the transfer application amounted to an abuse of the court process.
They contended that the Federal Court had already decided on the issues linked to Lim's case.
Graft trial resumes next week
Lim faces four graft charges in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, which will resume trial on Monday next week.
One charge, framed under Section 16(A)(a) and Section 23 of the MACC Act, accuses him of using his position as then Penang chief minister for the gratification of RM3.3 million as inducement for helping a company belonging to Zarul to secure the island state’s RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project.
The offence was allegedly perpetrated at the Penang Chief Minister's Office, 28th Floor, Komtar, George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.
Under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The second charge, also under Section 16(A)(a), accused Lim, in his capacity as the then Penang chief minister, to have solicited from Zarul bribes amounting to 10 percent of the profits to be earned by the company as gratification for helping secure the project.
The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, between 12.30am and 2am in March 2011.
The charge, framed under Section 16 of the MACC Act, provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Lim also faces two counts of causing two plots of land, worth RM208.8 million and belonging to the Penang government, to be disposed of to two companies allegedly linked to the undersea tunnel project.
The two charges, framed under Section 403 of the Penal Code, specify imprisonment of up to five years, whipping and a fine.
The offences were allegedly committed at the Penang Land and Mines Office, Level 21, Komtar, between Feb 17, 2015, and March 22, 2017. - Mkini
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