Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s lawyer claimed there was suppression of evidence when the authorities destroyed printouts of WhatsApp messages between key prosecution witness and a businessperson.
Defence counsel Gobind Singh Deo made the allegation after deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin told the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today about what happened to the message printouts.
However, the prosecution team contended it was standard procedure for the message printouts to be destroyed after they have been utilised in a separate cheating case against the businessperson, G Gnanaraja.
Gobind had previously sought the message printouts - which was the basis of a Shah Alam Sessions Court against Gnanaraja for allegedly cheating Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) senior executive Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli of RM19 million - as it was allegedly critical in the defence’s case that Lim was not involved in the graft case involving the project.
“My friend today informed me that the WhatsApp (printouts) have been shredded. In regard to WhatsApp messages, you can shred the (physical printout) copies but you cannot shred the (actual electronic) messages,” Gobind contended.
“We take the position that there has been suppression of evidence. These messages are critical in understanding the events leading up to the payment of the RM19 million, which is directly relevant to this case,” the lawyer said.
[More to follow] - Mkini
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